Much of Akron, Ohio’s Capital Budget Will Go to City’s Overflowing Sewer Problems, Higher Sewer Fees Will Result
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 5, 2012
A huge portion of Akron's budget will be going to the city's sewers
A plan to resolve overflowing sewer problem in Akron, Ohio may finally be underway.
But the plan presents a huge price tag for Ohio’s fifth-largest city, with 31 percent of the capital budget being spent to fix the sewage overflow problem. Higher sewer fees for the city’s citizens are slotted — the fees will nearly double.
From Akron Beacon Journal Online, Bulk of Akron’s capital budget devoted to sewers:
The biggest portion of Akron’s capital budget is going down the drain.
The city would spend nearly $59.3 million, or 31 percent of its proposed capital budget for 2012, on public utilities, with the bulk dedicated to sewer improvements.
That’s more than Akron would spend on any other category in the $193 million capital budget, including the Goodyear and Bridgestone projects, transportation, parks and recreation, housing and community services, and public facilities.
Much of the sewer money is slated for design work for future projects that will be much more costly than drawing up the plans, including $7 million to design a larger storage tunnel to run through downtown and $2 million for plans for a new Mud Run drainage basin.
“With what we’re looking at — what the EPA is forcing us to do — this will eat up a big chunk of our capital dollars over the next few years,” Public Service Director Rick Merolla said.
The city must make the upgrades to comply with a federal environmental lawsuit to fix its combined sewer/stormwater system to curb sewage overflows into local waterways. City officials have tried — and are still attempting — to get help from the federal or state governments to fund the project, but right now don’t have an option besides higher sewer fees. The city estimates the amount that will be spent on sewer upgrades will jump to $48.6 million next year and $70.8 million in 2014.
“We’ve got to figure out ways to fund this and pay back the loans,” said Akron Councilman Jeff Fusco, who chairs the Planning Committee that handles the capital budget.
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Akron plans to spend nearly $4.2 million less on housing and community services this year, largely because of a significant reduction in federal funding. The city received $5.5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding this year, about 15 percent less than 2011. City officials had feared a reduction of as much as 30 percent.
Discussions on fixing Akron’s sewer problems have been going on for a while — this was reported in 2011:
Akron and the federal government are getting closer on a $1.3 billion agreement to curtail the city’s overflowing sewers.
The agreement is not final, and both sides are scheduled to meet again Monday over the city’s Long-Term Control Plan that details specific steps Akron will take to reduce the overflows from its combined sewer system.
The two sides have had three meetings in the past five days.
Funding the first of the sewer projects could cost Akron as much as $120 million over the next two years. That could trigger sewer-rate increases of another 45 percent in 2012 and 40 percent in 2013.
Those increases would be over and above already passed hikes coming in these years that will raise the average bill from about $25 to about $49.
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