Metro Council scrutinizes O'Connell plan for water bill relief
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The Metro Council delayed a vote earlier this week on legislation to provide residents with relief on their water bills.
Why it matters: The legislation, part of Mayor Freddie O'Connell's slate of bills aiming to provide financial relief after the January ice storm, would give residents a credit of approximately $25.51 on a future water bill.
- Commercial businesses would receive a $23.37 credit. The total price tag is between $6 million and $7 million.
Between the lines: City leaders encouraged residents to keep their faucets dripping during the winter storm to avoid pipes freezing. As a result, some bills increased.
Yes, but: Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston is leading the charge to question the proposal.
- Johnston tells Axios the plan doesn't go far enough to help ratepayers whose bills went up drastically.
- She also said the plan is too broad, since the majority of residents didn't see higher bills as a result of the storm, based on the initial data from Metro Water Services.
Friction point: Johnston says she favors a more targeted approach, which would direct additional federal pandemic funds to the Metro Action Commission to provide residents with relief on their utility bills.
- "When 74% of customers didn't see higher water bills, an across-the-board credit isn't relief — it's a political gesture that weakens meaningful help for the people who actually need it and unnecessarily reduces utility revenues," Johnston says.
- She also worried that "fiscally irresponsible decisions like this compound into necessary water rate increases down the road."
What's next: The council deferred a vote until next month.