TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Water rates in Toledo could be going up again to fund renovations at the Collin's Park Water Treatment Plant.
Project leaders say they need residents to pay for the whole project, but Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson isn't so sure.
Ed Moore, director of public utilities, says in 2011,the expansion and improvement project for the Collin's Park Water Treatment Plant was estimated at $312 million. Now, because of inflation and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) improvements, Moore says it's up to $500 million.
Moore says the $312 million is funded by an increase in water rates through 2018. He says gr ants are rare, so they need another increase in the water rates to pay for the $188 million difference.
Mayor Hicks-Hudson isn't convinced.
"I see that there are things that he knows and there are things that I know, so we're going to look at all opportunities and aspects," said Hicks-Hudson.
In the past three years, there have been the initial water rate increase, a sewer rate increase, an increase in the trash fee, and an attempt to raise the temporary income tax. Now there talks of another water rate increase.
The Mayor says those increases have all come at different times and are necessary to maintain quality of life in our community.
"There are some people that are affected by all those, and there are others that are affected by different pieces of it, and so I
guess that question that I would try to answer - is it too much to have a liveable city? We have to pay for those things," said Hicks-Hudson.
She says if there is another water rate increase, they'll look to structure it in such a way it doesn't hit all at once.
