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Franklin residents will face sewage, water rate increases

Posted By: VenangoExtra.com November 13, 2019

By SARAH TITLEY
Staff writer

Franklin residents will start the new year by paying more for their water and sewage bills.

Franklin General Authority members approved the water and sewage hikes at their monthly meeting Tuesday, along with water and sewer operating budgets for 2020.

Water rates will jump 5 percent and sewage 2 percent. The increases equal an added $1.90 a month for water bills and $1 per month for sewer.

Authority members and city manager Tracy Jamieson attribute the increases to several large projects the authority will be tackling in the coming years as the city works to upgrade its antiquated water and sewer systems.

“While these projects are a necessary evil needed to correct old facilities and infrastructure, paying for them may be painful,” Jamieson wrote in a preface to the budget that was distributed to the panel.

Authority members will still need to settle on a capital fund budget for the coming year but have opted to delay the vote until a meeting can be held to discuss time constraints on several projects up for consideration.

“I think we need to take some time to talk about this … how we can split all this money up without putting us in the hole,” authority chairman Tim Dunkle said.

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