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ECUA Approves Water, Sewer And Sanitation Rate Increases
August 28, 2024
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority on Tuesday approved rate increases for water, wastewater and sanitation customers.
The board approved an ECUA Citizen’s Advisory Committee recommendation for 3% across the board increase for all three services.
The 3% increase for water and wastewater rate increases will be a moderate increase for most customers. For a typical mainland customer using 6,300 gallons, the increase would be 94 cents for water and $1.08 for wastewater, for a total of $2.02 per month. (Pensacola Beach water and wastewater customers pay a higher rate.)
District 5 board member Kevin Stephens said he was not necessarily opposed to the rate increases based upon staff recommendations and due to “our drastically failing infrastructure”.
A 3% increase or sanitation rates is also proposed.
For residential customers with a 90-gallon on smaller container, the rate will go from $29.82 to $30.56, increasing by 74 cents. The senior citizen rate with a 60-gallon container would increase 62 cents from $24.98 to $25.60.
“Other changes included an increase so the initial delivery charge for non-compaction rolloff containers in the commercial division, the resolution states. “The (fiscal year) 2024 budget included changes to commercial rates to become more competitive with the private sector.”
No member of the public spoke to the board Tuesday during a public hearing on the rate increases.
Comments
26 Responses to “ECUA Approves Water, Sewer And Sanitation Rate Increases”
Baffled, you sound like someone on the board. Making excuses….Listen they cut back on even MORE services, all but eliminating bulk pickups. our community looks like dog poo. Couches and beds all over the roads. ECUA scaled back services and then needs a rate increase? MAn I want some of the koolaid you sippin…
Well stated… Like a great employee
What most of you are not realizing is that the costs to provide the service to you has increased. Fuel- increased. Maintenance of all utility vehicles- increased. Power- increased. Water treatment chemicals- increased. Insurance rates- increased. Use common sense and you will understand the increase. We are not living in the 1900’s anymore. The issue is that social media and methods such as this commenting section make it more simple to see a lot of complaints and become the “negative gang”. When voicing things were not publicized like this, it was more on the lines of, “okay, it is what it is…. move on”. Where’s the praise for things done well? Silence.
Unfortunately service is mandatory and compelled by regulations, people don’t have a choice to just go to the dump and say no to this mess. They have you and they know it.
We have so little trash, it’s gotten ridiculous what they are charging.
At one point it was twice a week, and road side bulk pick up.
Service has went down and prices up and up.
I have never seen them NOT approve a rate increase : (
Ed…..ECUA does charge impact fees and large meter fees., For an apartment of 50 units the fees are about 85K and that was 3 years ago. It’e more if you have more houses and units. And that is if the water and sewer is on the street next to you. If not you have to pay to have to pay the cost of water and sewer to be designed and ran to you. People should realize this and vote them out. Service does not get any better, and they raise the rates every year!
What age does the senior citizen rate start??
Rate increase for more inadequate service? Can get my can replaced it only has 1 wheel and can get curbside service without jumping through hoops.
Gotta vote for the same county commissioners who rubber stamp development term after term after term??
Well then!
Gotta keep up with new neighborhoods.
More roads, more schools, more infrastructure.
.
Its not that hard to figure out.
You gotta pay.
VOTE PEOPLE
Mr Stevens citizen Larry Walker for voting for rate increases. Does anyone know if he apologized. Surely, since Mr S appoves all increases, he realizes he was wrong to attack Mr Walker
But, if he was correct, perhaps he needs to also be voted out
Is trash pick-up mandatory? If not, then you can deal with your trash the way you see fit. If you want someone to pick it up at your driveway then you are going to have to pay for it. Weigh the cost of disposing of your trash yourself, and factor in the convince of having it picked up. I will pay! No burn barrels or trips to the dump. The problem is many of those who refuse the pickup service end up dumping on the side of the road. I know, because I they dump on my road. If I had a vote, I would make it mandatory or make dumping a jail time offence if caught. I guess I am tired of cleaning up peoples trash.
If the “leaders” top down, would scale back just a portion of the waste, fraud and abuse emitting from this mismanaged utility, there would be no need for a rate hike. These folks are not held to a budget and/or accountable. If this were the case and they were doing their best with our money; the community would have a different take.
We need to impose impact fees on new construction… but we can’t, Tallahassee forbids it. Our state representatives are doing nothing for us. I don’t blame the ECUA board
Another increase! Are you serious? It will eventually be cheaper to haul it off yourself every month and throw your garbage in a hauler until it’s ready. Keep raising your rates ECUA and you will notice you are losing revenue.
Water averaging has kept my water bill at a nice price year round. No garden to water during the winter helps. It is still the cheapest bill in the pile including trash pick up. Sure would be hard to live without it. I never enjoyed burning the trash back in the day.
Have they ever NOT approved an increase? And hiding behind an “ECUA Citizen’s Advisory Committee” to give one cover for the decision is pathetic.
“Drastically failing infrastructure?”
Who is budgeting O&M and Capital projects? Century?
It should have never gotten even close to this point.
I’m not a fan of rate increases but it’s necessary to keep up with growth and Nationwide price increases, all materials and services ECUA purchases have been going up in cost so you have to compensate.
I see millions of dollars worth of concrete poured down the center of the roads making medians that you can’t cross over impeding the flow of traffic making it literally miles before you can turn around or into a business while road drainage systems are either non existent or in disrepair overwhelming sewers, apparently they have an endless budget maybe re-direct their funds?
New construction everywhere and improper soil containment filling up drainage pipes.
We need more transparency and better oversight by the County.
If need be, bring in a 3rd party Civil Engineering firm to audit ECUA and give them the funds needed to bring the infrastructure up to date.
Levy the appropriate charges to the various construction projects around the County to pay their fair share as they will be adding a long term burden to Potable, Drainage and Wastewater infrastructure.
Why did ECUA go against the
wishes of the people ????
ECUA can get an increase at there
wish. Why can’t we give a increase for our self ????
A 3 % increase is more than people are getting that are on social security. ECUA board votes an increase every year. When are people going to vote them out. They are tax and spend.
Raise the rates and will be better! At least a third of the time we have to call about missed service…thinking about having a fee for my time spent on the phone and on hold.
A 3 % increase is a larger increase than people on social security will get. They raise rates every year. When will people vote out those tax and spend democrats? That us what they are.
VOTE THEM OUT
When a politician fails to be truthful, refuses to answer the phone or respond to the people who put him in office, acquires an I’m better than you I’m a board member attitude or I don’t have to listen to or speak to you attitude, the only recourse voters have to fall back on is voting them out of office. That’s where the system is failing. When politicians are held accountable with instant removal & fines they will be less likely to develop the aforementioned attitudes & be much more likely to keep campaign promises or give substantial reasoning to the public for not doing so. District 5 seems to be plagued with problems concerning positions like ECUA board member & county commissioner but fortunately November is just around the corner & hopefully those problems are about to be eliminated. It would be much more satisfying to see them removed & banned from holding political office at any time in the future but until we can acquire those tools at our disposal the ballot box will have to do.
They have increased rates to buy new equipment,to open their own transfer station. Has the transfer station opened NO, have we seen new trucks that don’t leak no. I have heard the recycling center has been down again for the last month. So why do we have to keep paying for their incompetence. ECUA board members don’t represent the people it appears they represent profit.
Jason… have you noticed how much Pensacola grows every single day? It’s only growing more! Unfortunately it costs money on all of us! I don’t like it either, but it’s the truth! Downtown especially!!!
I live in north end of Escambia. I dont have ECUA service.
90gallon to a 60 gallon. I would think you get a 33 1/3 cut from a 90 gallon can. Why I stoppedECUA years ago
and stephens never returns calls!
not to mention sanitation trucks are running on bandaids due to poor workmanship
A/C not up to par to keep the drivers cooled down in this heat!
Yep…. our District 5 rep has voted to impose an increase every year. He has voted to impose every Capital Improvement Fee — sewer, water, sanitation and for the proposed transfer station on Godwin Lane — because like every government entity there is no such thing as living within a budget. They are always willing to reach deeper into the rate payers pocket and extract more money.
Another empty campaign promise by another politician who easily finds it acceptable to yes to rate increases. What a huge disappointment.