FGUA (Citrus Springs)
Water board approves higher main fees
Citrus Springs residents will still pay a lower rate than that suggested by the Florida Governmental Utility Authority. By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET Published December 7, 2005
LECANTO - The county's water authority unanimously approved higher water main extension fees for Citrus Springs. In doing so, the board followed county staff recommendations rather than adopting a higher increase originally proposed by the Florida Governmental Utility Authority.
Also Monday, the five-member board voted against the FGUA's proposed line maintenance fees in Pine Ridge and Citrus Springs.
The authority's decision came a month after a three-day marathon meeting session that included nearly 14 hours of attorney arguments and testimony by FGUA officials.
For lots in a special assessment area of 3,300 vacant lots in Citrus Springs and homes connecting to future line extensions by the utility, the water line extension fee will be $1,910. For homes connecting to water lines extended since the FGUA acquired the Citrus Springs system in 2003, the fee will be $1,635.
Homes connecting to lines that were part of the system before 2003 will pay the existing $446 line extension fee.
In July, the FGUA proposed a fee of $2,082 for residents of Citrus Springs and a $6,571 fee for residents of Pine Ridge who requested water line extensions after Dec. 1, 2003. FGUA officials eventually scaled back that proposal, eliminating the line extension fees for Pine Ridge residents and changing the proposed starting date several times.
In September, the Water and Wastewater Authority approved an interim fee of $2,068 for Citrus Springs residents requesting water line extensions. Property owners who paid that fee will be issued refunds based on how they fit into the new criteria established by the authority.
The FGUA's original fee proposal presented in July drew intense criticism from residents and county commissioners.
In October, the County Commission voted unanimously to hire a Tallahassee law firm to help the county evaluate whether to purchase the FGUA's 11 Citrus County systems. At Tuesday's County Commission meeting, a representative from the firm presented an update on his evaluation.
"I think it's important that there be a regulatory body that does review these rates. ... Had FGUA gone ahead and done everything they originally proposed ... we could really have a big problem here," water and wastewater authority board member Ronald F. Broadbent said at the end of Monday's meeting.
Authority members said Monday that the FGUA's proposed annual line maintenance fees of $16.55 in Citrus Springs and $37 in Pine Ridge were unfair and unjustified.
The water and wastewater authority also voted 4-1 to advise the FGUA not to finance additional line construction with bonds, a method that FGUA officials have said is essential to managing the system's growth.
FGUA special projects administrator David Miles said after the meeting that the utility was happy with the approved line extension fees and "somewhat disappointed" about the rejected maintenance fee proposal.
He said they would consider the authority's recommendation regarding bond financing.
Interested parties have 30 days to appeal the authority's decision.
Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 352 860-7309.
Citrus Springs residents will still pay a lower rate than that suggested by the Florida Governmental Utility Authority. By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET Published December 7, 2005
LECANTO - The county's water authority unanimously approved higher water main extension fees for Citrus Springs. In doing so, the board followed county staff recommendations rather than adopting a higher increase originally proposed by the Florida Governmental Utility Authority.
Also Monday, the five-member board voted against the FGUA's proposed line maintenance fees in Pine Ridge and Citrus Springs.
The authority's decision came a month after a three-day marathon meeting session that included nearly 14 hours of attorney arguments and testimony by FGUA officials.
For lots in a special assessment area of 3,300 vacant lots in Citrus Springs and homes connecting to future line extensions by the utility, the water line extension fee will be $1,910. For homes connecting to water lines extended since the FGUA acquired the Citrus Springs system in 2003, the fee will be $1,635.
Homes connecting to lines that were part of the system before 2003 will pay the existing $446 line extension fee.
In July, the FGUA proposed a fee of $2,082 for residents of Citrus Springs and a $6,571 fee for residents of Pine Ridge who requested water line extensions after Dec. 1, 2003. FGUA officials eventually scaled back that proposal, eliminating the line extension fees for Pine Ridge residents and changing the proposed starting date several times.
In September, the Water and Wastewater Authority approved an interim fee of $2,068 for Citrus Springs residents requesting water line extensions. Property owners who paid that fee will be issued refunds based on how they fit into the new criteria established by the authority.
The FGUA's original fee proposal presented in July drew intense criticism from residents and county commissioners.
In October, the County Commission voted unanimously to hire a Tallahassee law firm to help the county evaluate whether to purchase the FGUA's 11 Citrus County systems. At Tuesday's County Commission meeting, a representative from the firm presented an update on his evaluation.
"I think it's important that there be a regulatory body that does review these rates. ... Had FGUA gone ahead and done everything they originally proposed ... we could really have a big problem here," water and wastewater authority board member Ronald F. Broadbent said at the end of Monday's meeting.
Authority members said Monday that the FGUA's proposed annual line maintenance fees of $16.55 in Citrus Springs and $37 in Pine Ridge were unfair and unjustified.
The water and wastewater authority also voted 4-1 to advise the FGUA not to finance additional line construction with bonds, a method that FGUA officials have said is essential to managing the system's growth.
FGUA special projects administrator David Miles said after the meeting that the utility was happy with the approved line extension fees and "somewhat disappointed" about the rejected maintenance fee proposal.
He said they would consider the authority's recommendation regarding bond financing.
Interested parties have 30 days to appeal the authority's decision.
Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 352 860-7309.
posted by Editor Facts & Myths @ 2:42 AM
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