Someone find me a local judge (after trying to draw attention to this issue again, again, and again, I have just about given up on a local journalist or anti-poverty commission)…
After reading this article, entitled “Flint residents paid America’s highest water rates”…
If Flint’s bill included both water and wastewater, Richmond’s bill is MUCH higher.
Flint’s bill for 60,000 gallons of water service= $864 annually
Richmond’s bill for 60,000 gallon of water/sewer service annually is $1,069.
748 gallons per CCF of water. 60,000 gallons = 80 ccf 80ccf divided by 12 equals 6 ccf per month.
Richmond’s base service charge for water is $12.99 per month and for sewer is 16.04 per month for a
total base water/sewer service charge of $29.03 per month or $348 per year.
Richmond’s volume charge for water is $3.60 per ccf and volume charge of sewer is $6.42 per ccf for a total of $10.02 per ccf for water/sewer. 6 ccf X $10.02 + $60.12 per month x 12 equals $721 annually.
$348 annual base water/sewer service charge + $721 for 6 ccf water/sewer service annually = $1,069 annually for 60,000 gallons of water/sewer service. This is 20% higher than Flint’s bill which is mentioned as the highest in the country.
Of course, Richmond residents can at least drink our water….for now…
The article on Flint notes that that city has been using the water rates to subsidize the city’s general fund: “They’ve been using that money improperly for years to fund the general operations of the city,” said Valdemar L. Washington …
That is the same thing that the City of Richmond has been doing. Richmond even tacks on a charge in lieu of Federal income tax on the water bill that goes into the city’s general fund.