Some Prince George’s county residents say charges for water system improvements should be based on a person’s ability to pay rather than simply their use of water.
The Washington Suburban and Sanitary Commission, which covers Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, has floated the idea of an “Infrastructure Renewal Fee” that would go toward pipe replacement and is estimated to cost single-family homeowners about $20 more a month.
Montgomery County has had serious issues with aging pipes and water service in the past year. Problems have included about 1,900 water main breaks between July 2006 and July 2007.
“There is no silver bullet, there will be no bailout from the federal government,” water utility manager Andy Brunhart said Wednesday.
Montgomery County Council members gave initial support to the fee earlier this year, but Prince George’s County Council members were opposed to it.
At public hearings in early February, about 50 Prince George’s residents showed up to speak about the proposed fee and rate increases, while only 15 people participated in Montgomery’s discussion.
“We know there are problems that need to be dealt with but this doesn’t seem like an equitable way of dealing with it,” Prince George’s community activist Dorothy Carolyn Lowe told The Examiner. “We are concerned about the disproportionate effect this would have on people with fixed incomes like seniors and how it would affect low income families. It doesn’t seem like they should be paying for mismanagement on the backs of vulnerable residents.”
Prince George’s water utility commissioner Juanita Miller said she felt the issue should have been addressed in previous years, and the idea of a fee now meant water utility officials were “asking the ratepayer to do what [water utility leaders] did not do.”
When some commissioners questioned the fairness of fees regardless of how much water a consumer uses, Brunhart likened the situation to libraries, which all residents pay for regardless of whether or not they frequent them.
“Libraries don’t charge a user fee to enter the building,” Brunhart said.
WSSC board members must submit a finalized rate increase plan and surcharge decision to both county councils by March 1.
