BERKEY, OH (Toledo News Now) - The city of Toledo tonight is making good on its promise to make the small town of Berkey pay for its water improvements.
The village of Berkey, just west of Sylvania, was seeing its water wells start to run dry, and the city of Toledo jumped in to help.
The city, county, and the village entered into an agreement in 2005 that extended city water lines to Berkey.
The system was completed in 2008, and 67 customers have been getting water. However, the city says the village has never paid anything towards the $2 million construction bill.
The city absorbed the cost through its utility fund. While the mayor of Berkey recently argued that Toledo officials never followed through with a plan to help them set up a payment system, the city felt that was an excuse not to pay.
Therefore, city council voted unanimously to establish a fixed rate for Berkey customers to recoup those costs late Tuesday afternoon.
Berkey customers will pay $167 per quarter to the city plus the cost of the water they use.
"Everyone has to pay their fair share, so there are no free rides in Toledo. Its residents have been footing the bill for a long time. It's appropriate now that we kind of collect on what's owed to us," said city councilman Adam Martinez.
That fixed rate of $167 a quarter will be paid by Berkey residents over the next 30 years. New customers who want to tap in will have to pay $20,000 cash.
