By Taylor Wooten
For the Daily Journal
Bargersville residents will pay more for utilities starting next year to fund millions of dollars worth of infrastructure improvements in the rapidly growing town.
The Bargersville Town Council unanimously approved raising water, sewer and electric rates to fund capital projects and reflect current operating costs. The decision to begin upping the rates is related to low interest rates on bonds, said Kevin Killinger, the town’s utilities manager. The increases will fund projects to catch up the town’s utilities with the steadily growing population.
The rates were outdated, officials said. The water rate changed last in 2019, the sewer rate in 2011, and the electric rate in 2005. Now, all three rates will change in two phases over the next two years.
Water rates will increase by 14% next year, adding an average of $3.67 to residents’ bills for an average monthly bill of $29.61. In 2023, the rate will increase by another 9%, making the average bill $32.27.
The increase will fund $28.3 million in projects, with $9 million going toward outstanding debt.
Many of the water projects will increase the town’s capacity. This year, the town added 420 new accounts, 35% more than the number of accounts added last year.
The town plans to build a new water tower that will hold up to 1 million gallons of water, to replace its current tower which is half that size. The new tower, which will cost about $10.5 million, will be taller, creating better water pressure, Killinger said. A 2-million-gallon ground storage tank will also be added for $2.4 million.
The town is fast-tracking the water tower in hopes of having it finished by summer 2023, Killinger said.
For the expansion of Interstate 69, the town will invest $1.6 million in larger pipes for the area.
A new booster station will fill the water towers in the service area. Another will be upgraded with larger pumps. Collectively, they will cost $1.8 million. Facility upgrades, including creating a maintenance facility for the utilities equipment and staff, will cost another $2.5 million.
Sewer rates will increase by 11% next year, adding an average of $4.89 to residents’ bills for an average monthly bill of $48.75. In 2023, the rate will increase by another 12.4%, making the average bill $54.
That increase will fund $7.3 million in projects, including $1.4 million by Interstate 69. A new sewer main and pump stations will cost about $4 million, with an expansion project south of Whiteland Road to cost $500,000. A new lift station will add $500,000 to the price tag, and facility and equipment upgrades will cost an additional $650,000.
Electric rates will increase by 11.5% next year, adding an average of $12.10 to residents’ bills for an average monthly bill of $117.54. In 2023, the rate will increase by another 12.4%, making the average bill $144.63.
That increase will be used to bring town operating costs to the current level along with a $425,000 annual capital improvement program to replace meters with smart meters, all street lights with LED lights and older powerlines. The new electric meters will cost $1 million, and the LED street lights will cost $620,000.
The electric meters will allow residents to know instantly how much electricity they are using at a time when people want instantaneous information, Killinger said.
Much of the town’s infrastructure is aging. Taking on the projects now is an attempt to be proactive, he said.
“Some of this infrastructure is over, probably, 60 years old and is probably past its life expectancy,” Killinger said. “Before it fails, we want to get in there and start replacing items.”
