ATHENS, Ohio — Athens City Council on Monday again tabled a proposed 4% sewer rate increase so it can determine if it would be more efficient to keep the hike in place for five years, or four.
Ordinance 81-26 was tabled in August. It returned to the agenda for discussion Monday, but was tabled again until Oct. 19. The delay will give the council time to consider a spreadsheet-based recommendation from City Service-Safety Director Andy Stone.
Stone has proposed raising sewer rates over several years to cover expected annual increases in the costs of personnel, operations and maintenance, as well as debt service on existing projects.
Stone recommends raising sewer rates by 4% in 2027 and 2028. After that, rates would rise annually by 2% through 2031.
City Auditor Josh Thomas said it is more efficient to pass one piece of legislation than having to pass a new one every year.
Mayor Steve Patterson said the city’s sewer rates are favorably at present with other local governments’ rates. The Independent was unable to verify his statement in time for publication.
Currently, Athens’ average household monthly rate is $53.93, Patterson said. A 4% rate increase would increase that average to $56.09 per month in 2027 and $58.33 in 2028. Subsequent annual hikes of 2% would bring the average bill to $61.90 by 2031.
The city has used a multi-year sewer increase schedule going back to 2016, council member Jessica Thomas, At-Large, said.
Auditor Josh Thomas said the recommendations in Stone’s spreadsheet are detailed enough to give the city a rate plan for the next four to five years. He said his own calculations on what is needed to keep the sewer fund with an appropriate balance matched Stone’s almost exactly.
“We know what our costs are going to be over the next few years, that’s the point of this spreadsheet,” Thomas said. “It spells out everything, it’s pretty detailed.”
Law Director Lisa Eliason said she will research past instances of setting sewer rates over several years before council’s Oct. 19 meeting. A multiyear package would require amending the proposed Ordinance 81-26.
Council member Alan Swank, 4th Ward, said Stone’s recommendation for annual increases starting at 4% for each of the next two years would keep the beginning annual balance of the sewer fund at $20 million, a “fiscally prudent path” given the amount of expenses it covers.
Accounting ordinance sparks debate
First reading of an ordinance authorizing a typically routine accounting maneuver sparked debate about how and when payments are processed.
Ordinance 93-26 authorizes a Then-and-Now Certificate to pay a $22,000 invoice from Prokos Rentals for its repairs to its sewer line. For payment to be made to Prokos Rentals within 30 days as required by the Ohio Revised Code, council member Thomas said the rules would need to be suspended and the ordinance passed on first reading.
However, Swank objected to the measure, saying that it could send a “bad message.”
“This is a tough one from an optics standpoint,” Swank said.
Swank said the Mount Zion Black Cultural Center, at 32 W. Carpenter St., was devastated by summer floods. It would be unfair, he said, to pay a $22,000 bill for a failed sewer connection while Mount Zion continues to deal with repairs.
It’s uncertain if the issues are caused by alleged “bad” work of a contractor, imperfections in soil or a city curb “that needs raised,” he said.
“My guess is it’s a combination of factors,” he said.
Jessica Thomas said payment has nothing to do with weather or preferential treatment, but rather the need to suspend council rules so the bill can be paid within 30 days of invoice receipt.
Paul Isherwood, At-Large, said it’s not about optics, but about following “the proper procedure” to pay the invoice on time.
Suspending the rules requires six members to vote yes. John Staser, 2nd Ward, was absent, and the motion failed by a vote of 5-1, with Swank voting no.
Auditor Thomas said he would request a special council session next week so the Then and Now Certificate could be paid. Eliason said the council should pursue a date in the coming week where six council members can meet for a special session.
Swank declined to withdraw his no vote. Thomas said he did not have the invoice at hand to provide a deadline.
“Sadly, I think that we’ve set ourselves up for an audit finding for 2026, which will negatively impact the city and the city’s financial obligations,” Patterson said.
Mount Zion issues
Mount Zion Black Cultural Center came up again during public comment.
President Ada-Woodson Adams said she was “appalled” that Patterson did not mention the center during his recent discussions of flood impacts and mitigation measures. She said the city was asked to mark water lines for renovations to begin in 2020 and 2021.
The city did mark water lines. “But subsequently, we found some clay piping that the city didn’t mark,” Adams said. More unmarked clay pipes have been uncovered since then, she said.
Adams said the problems appear to relate to the Berry family’s purchase of property in the area of Carpenter and Congress. The city extended clay sewer pipes to the site to accommodate the purchase, and the pipes’ age and disrepair have contributed to flooding on the Mount Zion site, she said.
The city’s approach seems to be to “do a little patch work here, and a little patch work there,” while counting on Mount Zion Black Cultural Center to do work the city should be doing, Adams said.
Susan Righi, chair of Mount Zion’s building committee, said she has called the city multiple times about specific flood-related issues and did not receive responses back.
Among the center’s expenses was repair to a drain pipe that was not listed on city maps, Righi said. It was later fixed by the city after its equipment traveled over the pipe and broke it, unaware of it there.
Righi said other problems included a 12-inch pipe that was capped and a brick that was missing from a tunnel that contributed to water subsidence on the southwest portion of the property.
“What’s going on at Mount Zion is so upsetting to me,” audience member Beth Amoriya said. “We’re part of your heritage.”
Mount Zion Board Director Janice Collins said she is hopeful and optimistic that a solution can be found with the city and Mount Zion staff working more closely together.
Disclosure: Janice Collins serves on the board of Southeast Ohio Independent News, which oversees the Athens County Independent.
Athens City Council holds regular meetings and committee meetings on alternate Mondays beginning at 7 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall on West Washington Street in Athens. The next meeting has been moved to Tuesday, Oct. 13, because of the Columbus Day holiday.
