Vero Beach Utilities customers should brace for higher water-sewer bills starting in October as the city goes into debt to pay for its new, cutting-edge water treatment plant under construction at the airport complex. The Vero Beach City Council last week voted unanimously to approve a set of annual rate increases for its 14,000 customers that will push the average monthly utility bill up from $83.84 to $122.45 by 2030. The first rate hike set for October will increase the typical 4,000-gallon household water-sewer bill from $83.84 to $94.92, an increase of 13.2 percent. The second scheduled rate hike will up the average bill from $94.92 to $107.30 in 2028, with additional phased increases until 2030. For comparison, Indian River County Utilities’ current rate for 4,000 gallons is $67.70. The more-than-45 percent increase in rates between now and 2030 will steadily increase the dollar amount of the 6 percent revenue transfer from the utility into Vero’s general fund. It will also help pay hefty transfers to fund city hall operations and staff related to the water-sewer service. Water-sewer customers outside Vero Beach city limits in Indian River Shores and on the South Barrier Island will continue to subsidize city residents’ property taxes with these transfers, which make up between 10 percent and 12 percent of monthly utility bills. One positive thing about the rate hikes is that, with the extra funds, the antique sewer plant on the shore of the Indian River Lagoon will finally be decommissioned and demolished. When the new plant at the intersection of Aviation Boulevard and U.S. 1 is fully operational, island residents won’t have to look at or smell the old sewer plant anymore. Plans to move the sewer plant off the river began more than a decade ago, when the city’s dream was to clear all unsightly utility equipment off the riverfront after the sale of the city’s electric utility and “Big Blue” power plant to Florida Power & Light. Since then, riverfront redevelopment plans have shifted to incorporate the facade of the Midcentury modern power plant into the Three Corners mixed use project, but the sewer plant will definitely be going away. Consultants initially estimated water-sewer bills would rise around $18 per month ($17.76 to be exact) to pay for the new treatment plant at the airport – but the price tag on the plant at that time was around $80 million. That rose to $164 million plus tens of millions of dollars in capital improvements to the utility system. The total cost of the new plant, including debt service, is now expected to exceed a quarter billion dollars, but the city has secured nearly $68 million in grants to help pay for the project. Utilities Director Rob Bolton expects these grants will also help fund efforts to eliminate forever chemicals in the city water supply. Bolton said that in 2028 the back end of the rate increases set for 2029 and 2030 could be reduced somewhat – if no other major costs go up unexpectedly. That might mean the average 2030 water-sewer bill will be less than the projected amount of $122.45. To make the numbers work, Vero plans to add hundreds of new sewer customers each year via septic conversions, including 150 homeowners in Indian River Shores who are still on septic tanks. State law is forcing most non-rural homeowners off septic systems, with a looming 2030 deadline. Not surprisingly, some residents strongly object to the steep increases the city council just approved. “I just had sewer installed,” said Adelene Clemons, 86, who lives alone on the barrier island. “I was told that that was what we needed to do. They destroyed my septic tank, which was perfectly fine. Now my sewer bill is almost 2.5 times the price of my water bill, which is outrageous – and they’re asking for an increase. “This is hard on widows and widowers. I’ve been living in my house since 1979, and all of a sudden everything is going through the roof. It is now almost $100 a month for 4,000 gallons of water,” Clemons said. “I want to tell you, I take the quickest showers you’ve ever seen, trying not to use that much water. But it’s not fair. It’s not fair to the people who have been here forever and ever.” The Town of Indian River Shores is trying to renegotiate the terms of its utility franchise agreement with Vero Beach, which binds it to the city’s water-sewer system until 2042. Shores Vice Mayor Bob Auwaerter spoke at Vero’s public podium before the vote on rate hikes, taking issue with the millions of dollars transferred from the utility into the city’s general fund. He said he had looked at each city department budget to see how much was being funded by money from water-sewer customers – including those in Indian River Shores. “[Vero Beach] City Council, 25 percent of the costs are being paid by the water and sewer customers,” Auwaerter said. “City Clerk, 24 percent. City Manager, 25 percent. This building, City Hall – I don’t think there’s any water and sewer facilities inside City Hall other than toilets – 25 percent. We’re getting to see it become a pattern here. “My concern is you have massive increases in these rates … piling on the water and sewer ratepayers, many of which live outside the city and cannot vote you out of office on the city council – which is the rate-making board. I think it’s just unfair,” Auwaerter concluded. Councilman Aaron Vos and Councilwoman Linda Moore, who are running for re-election in November, voted for the rate hikes along with the rest of the council. It will be interesting to see if city voters continue to support them or if they pay a price for upping the cost of living.