VERO BEACH — Vero Beach Utilities customers who live on the south barrier island can expect a different-looking water-sewer bill starting in June – and some significant savings.
The Vero Beach City Council voted 5-0 last week to convert those customers to the county rate structure, which in most typical residential cases proves to be less expensive for them.
For example, a single-family residential water-sewer customer with a typical 5/8-inch water meter using 3,000 gallons per month is currently paying $51.45, plus a 6 percent franchise fee to the county. That same bill would go down to $42.51, plus the county franchise fee. That’s a 17 percent decrease, which adds up to about $118 per year.
A household with the same 5/8-inch meter using 8,000 gallons of water and sewer services per month now pays $82.22, plus the county franchise fee. That bill would go down to $72, plus the county franchise fee on the Indian River County Utilities rate structure. That’s a 12 percent decrease, or more than $122 per year more in ratepayers’ pockets.
The move came after Vero rejected a plan put forth by the county to defuse an ongoing dispute over whether or not the city has the right to serve the South Beach and mainland county ratepayers even after the county’s franchise agreement with Vero expires in March 2017.
Vero officials maintain that the rate switch is “revenue-neutral” to the city. Councilwoman Pilar Turner had been skeptical of this as she hadn’t seen any analysis that allayed her concerns, but last Tuesday night after being supplied the numbers by city staff, she seemed on board with the concept that it would at best be a wash to the city’s budget.
“For South Beach customers it looks like if we convert to county rates we’ll see a 4.3 percent increase in revenue and on the mainland we’ll have a slight decrease in revenues,” said Turner, adding, “You’re going to be hearing from your high-volume users. It’s going to have a significant effect on Indian River Hospital and Vero Beach Elementary. At least for our two highest water users, they’re going to see a significant increase.”
The conversion to county rates also means the elimination of the contentious 10 percent surcharge that Vero has tacked onto county customers’ bills. This surcharge used to be slapped on South Beach and Shores’ customers electric bills as well, but was eliminated in an attempt to quell an outcry from outside electric customers about high Vero rates.
Customers inside the city limits still pay and will continue to pay a 10 percent utility tax, which goes into Vero’s general fund, on both water-sewer and electric bills – a tax that theoretically they would otherwise pay in property taxes. Come June, Vero city residents will be the only water-sewer customers who remain on city rates, and City Manager Jim O’Connor said there’s nothing in the works to change that, as it would hurt some large commercial and industrial users.
Under the new rate structure, South Beach and mainland county residents will pay Indian River County Utilities rates for water and sewer, plus a 6 percent equalization charge, which goes to Vero, and a 6 percent “fee in lieu of franchise” which goes into the county’s general fund. Though Commissioner Bob Solari has floated the idea of eliminating the county’s portion of that burden, as the commission did with a similar fee charged to Sebastian residents, there was nothing on this week’s agenda to indicate that proposal was moving forward.
“I am unaware of any plans for the county to eliminate the 6 percent fee in lieu of franchise,” County Attorney Dylan Reingold said in an email response Monday.
Several years ago the county notified Vero that it would not renew that franchise because the county intends to serve those customers with its own water-sewer system. Where does that stand?
“I am unaware of any plans at this time to lay infrastructure to serve the South Beach and mainland county customers when the franchise agreement expires in 2017,” Reingold said.
Indian River Shores water-sewer customers were converted to the county rate structure in October 2012 as part of a deal to cut a new long-term franchise agreement with Vero. Vero did this to keep the Shores as customers, as Indian River County was also vying for their business.
“There have been absolutely zero complaints, and any comments have been that people are glad that the water bills went down,” said Shores Councilman Tom Cadden, 18 months after the Town was switched over to the county rate structure. Cadden said he knows there is a point in consumption where county rates are higher if a family uses a great deal of water in the home or uses potable water to irrigate the lawn when no reuse water is available. He said some Shores residents have begun to conserve water as to not surpass that threshold.
That point for the typical residential customer hooked up to both water and sewer service is about 13,000 gallons per month, which is more than twice the average of 6,000 gallons of water per month.
O’Connor said Vero would honor the irrigation-only meters that have been installed in The Moorings and elsewhere on the South Beach, only charging those customers for water consumption on those meters, not for sewer.
