by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
For the first time since JEA took over water and sewer service from the City of Jacksonville in 1997, rates for those services may go up.
At today’s JEA board of directors meeting, JEA staff members will present a plan that would call for a small increase in those rates that will likely take effect in October.
“It will be a couple months of debate,” said JEA spokesman Ron Whittington. “We are going to do a cost of service study.”
According to Whittington, that study will show that JEA is losing money by providing water and sewer service at the current rate. Major overhauls to current systems in established neighborhoods and massive development the past decade are both reasons for the probable increase.
“There will be some sort of increase, but it will not happen until sometime in October,” said Whittington, adding that JEA could maintain its current service at the current fees, but it would not be able to improve, upgrade or add service.
“That’s the point,” he said. “We have spent about $1.6 billion on water and sewer since we took it over. We are starting to carry that debt. We will have to raise the rates to pay for the water needs and the pipes in the ground.”
Developers may also have to pay a little more too. Currently, a developer pays a hook-up fee to JEA based on the number of units in the development. Whittington said that fee hasn’t been raised in years either and with all the new development currently underway and the number of units planned for the near future, the hook-up fee increase is both necessary and smart.
“A lot of cities wait until the infrastructure is on the verge of collapsing before they do anything about it,” he said. “JEA has had the foresight to put in new pipes and we have seen the benefits. We don’t have many ruptures or collapses here. A lot of this (both increases) is growth driven. It’s about being able to have the financial means to handle the new developments like Nocatee and others.
“We will first present this to the board and explain to them the benefits and how this will help with the growth that is coming over the next 10-20 years.”