Franklin residents could see their sewer bills go up this spring as city officials work to pay for needed maintenance and new sewers in rapidly growing parts of the city.
City council members are considering a sewer rate increase that would have most of the city’s 8,000 sewer customers paying about $9 more a month. That extra money would fund multiple sewer projects totaling more than $20 million.
Homeowners now pay, on average, $18 a month. The increase would raise the average bill to about $27 a month, assuming a resident or business uses about 4,000 gallons a month.
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The proposal was unveiled at Monday’s city council meeting. A public hearing and vote is scheduled during the council’s March 2 meeting. If passed, the new rate would take effect in May and would be the first sewer rate hike in 16 years in Franklin.
The proposed increase is equivalent to about 3% annually, if rates had gone up every year since 2004, when the last increase took effect.
All of the projects have been part of the city’s master plan for several years, as the city has tried to anticipate some of the growth, said Steve Barnett, Franklin mayor.
Council member Drew Eggers questioned why rates couldn’t have steadily increased annually so that the 52% hike wouldn’t be such a shock to residents, especially if city officials knew that this work would be needed eventually.
“I just think in the future we should keep an eye out for stuff like this and not get to this state of urgency where we are at,” Eggers said.
Barnett said they didn’t need the money every year and that as a resident he tries to hold onto his money as long as he can. Council member Bob Heuchan agreed.
“I appreciate not having to pay it all these years,” Heuchan said.
Sewer rates in Franklin have stayed steady since 2004, and even with the increase, city residents would still pay lower rates than other communities in the area, Barnett said.
Sewer rates in other communities throughout the county range from about $36 to nearly $60. Greenwood’s sewer rates were $36 heading into 2020, although a jump to $48 is expected this year, according to newspaper archives. Trafalgar’s rates are the highest in the county; residents there pay about $59 a month.
The increase is needed to help pay for several projects throughout the city, mostly due to Franklin’s growth the last few years with new homes and businesses coming to the city.
“The expansion of the sewer system is necessary to continue our intentional growth,” Barnett said.
Currently, the city is using about $1.5 million from its savings to pay for some of the sewer projects that have already started, he said.
The list of projects includes a $2.5 million improvement to the city’s wastewater to address a state mandate to remove phosphorous from the water. All across town, sewer pipes are wearing out. Relining them is expected to cost $3 million. New pump upgrades at the waste water plant will be $1.5 million.
The two projects with the largest price tags are directly tied to the city’s rapid growth.
The city needs about $11.5 million to update sewers on the west side of U.S. 31, where the city has had most of its growth the past few years. Several chain restaurants and stores like Kroger came in a few years ago.
New homes are proposed near Franklin Community High School as an extension of an existing subdivision, and hundreds of homes are coming to the southwest side of the city in the coming years. Both of those additions are west of U.S. 31.
The new homes and businesses on that side of town have put the sewers at capacity, and they need upgraded now to accommodate even more growth. The planned upgrades would set the city up for the next 20 to 25 years, Barnett said.
“We’ve got to the point where this is it,” he said.
The city must also provide a sewer line for new warehouses and for future development directly east of Interstate 65 on the far east side of the city, where shell buildings have popped up and future growth is planned. That project is expected to cost $5 million.
The city is obligated to provide sewer service to those areas, although those businesses would pay fees to the city and would pay for infrastructure to allow them to hook onto the city’s sewer line, Barnett said.
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What: Public hearing and vote on a sewer rate increase in Franklin.
When: 6 p.m. March 2.
Where: Franklin City Hall, 70 E. Monroe St.
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$18: Average sewer rate
$27: Cost if increase is approved
8,000: Number of customers on the utility
2004: Last time sewer rates were raised in Franklin
$11.5 million: Cost to upgrade sewers on the west side of U.S. 31 in Franklin
$5 million: Cost to run a sewer line in a rapidly growing area east of Interstate 65
$3 million: Cost for pipe replacements throughout the city
$2.5 million: Chemical phosphorous removal project
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