By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
After hearing an earful from concerned commercial property owners, leaders of the Town of Waterford Sanitary District No. 1 agreed to consider a proposal to implement a rate revamp proposal through a series of phases.
WSD commissioners met Oct. 8 and discussed moving forward with a new rate structure, which was formally unveiled by a hired consultant in September. Commissioner Jeff Santaga, however, suggested holding off on a definitive decision at this point.
For most of 2014, WSD commissioners have discussed tweaking the rate structure in an attempt toward bringing equity between metered and non-metered customers. Throughout the review process, commissioners have said that most customers would see few, if any, changes on their quarterly bills.
But the new methodology drawn up by Dave Sheard, a senior economic analyst with WSD’s consultant, Ruekert-Mielke, revealed commercial property owners could be incurring large increases if the new structure is implemented immediately.
Case in point: Elder Care Cottages of Wisconsin, at 7711 Big Bend Road, is expected to pay an additional $3,777 to WSD annually, from $9,368 to $13,145.
Other commercial properties that stand to see hikes include Quick Wash, the Rivermoor Golf Club and Cruise Inn.
Jeff Halbach, an investor with Rivermoor, raised concerns about the rate revision as he came before commissioners last week.
“I think it’s grossly unfair, and I question the legality,” Halbach said. “Many businesses are picking up the freight. A 40- or 50-percent increase just doesn’t fly in this day and age. I don’t know how to recoup it.”
Jim Schilling, representing Elder Care, expressed confusion over the rate revisions. Schilling said he poured over WSD’s documents and could not follow the logic. He requested a meeting with Sheard at Ruekert-Mielke.
“There doesn’t seem to be enough detail to figure out what you guys are doing,” Schilling commented. “This just doesn’t pass the basic sniff test for me. I really need to dig into the hard numbers.”
In the absence of a meeting with Sheard, Schilling suggested he might file a complaint with the state Public Service Commission.
Several factors led WSD commissioners to hold off on making a decision on the rate structure. In addition to the business owners’ concerns, one WSD board member, Ricky McNeiley, was unable to attend the Oct. 8 meeting.
From his perspective, Santaga said he believes an incremental approach seemed to be most prudent.
“I’d personally like to find some way of easing into it more,” Santaga said. “I almost think we’ll have to, or we’ll lose our businesses.”
Like his fellow elected colleagues, Santaga does not dispute the methodology used to tweak the rates.
“I think the study nails it,” he added. “This should’ve been done 20 years ago. But I don’t want to be the one who throws these guys out the door.”
WSD Chairman Dan Dickinson was amenable to tabling a decision. But he expressed frustration with back peddling after an exhaustive research process.
“We’ve put this off several months,” Dickinson commented. “I’m at wits end right now, actually. I do believe (the methodology) is correct, and I do believe it’s not discriminatory.”
Further discussion of the rate revisions is expected when the WSD meets in November.
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