Liz Shepard

After months of discussion and several meetings, the Port Huron City Council will be asked to vote on increasing water and sewer costs Monday.

The $11.79 a month increase is necessary because of the weight of debt the sewer separation project has put on the city, said James Freed, city manager.

"The council has taken extraordinary measures to defer increases during a time of recession," Freed said. "We've subsidized $45 million from various funds, we've cut $2.75 million in annual costs. We've slashed and burned trying to patch the deficit — eventually the tough decisions have to be made."

The water and wastewater funds have a combined deficit of about $4.9 million. The city also has an outstanding $107 million debt from the state-mandated $176 million sewer separation project. The city pays $11 million to $12 million per year toward the debt.

The increase is expected to generate $2.45 million a year.

If the hike is approved, the average water and sewer bill for Port Huron residents would be $75.46 per month and show up on December's water bills.

No one on the council is happy about the increase, but many said it is necessary.

Councilman Rico Ruiz said he believes the utility budget has been made as lean as possible, and is glad the increase and the deficit have been explained to the community.

Mayor Pro Tem Sherry Archibald said she's not happy about it but will support the increase.

"Its a very hard decision. It's not something I want to do, but as a councilperson and a resident I'm a little frustrated it wasn't done years ago so it would have been a small amount over time and would have been easier to handle," Archibald said. "I feel obligated to go ahead and take care of it, get it done, instead of pushing it down the road."

She said if the city doesn't increase water bills now, the deficit will be an even larger number and be even more difficult on residents in the future.

Councilman Ken Harris said he won't support the increase. He said he'd like to look at making more cuts. Harris said he also doesn't think the blanket increase is fair to those who don't use as much water.

Councilwoman Anita Ashford said Friday she was undecided on how she'd vote on the rate increase.

"My heart is still sticking out there a bit," she said. "My mind is settled on the fact we have to change, but I'm still not complete on that amount."

Councilwoman Rachel Cole said she'll support the increase.

"I feel like if we don't act on something right now, we'll be in jeopardy down the road with someone else making that decision for us," she said. "I don't want rates to go up, council pays them too, but at the same time it's pretty clear we have to do something."

Cole said she also favors the increase because it will still subsidize the fund in part, making it not as big of a burden on citizens as it could have been.

Councilman Alan Lewandowski said he'll be voting against the increase.

"I don't think it's a fair way to do it, I think you have to put it on how much water you use," he said.

Lewandowski said he also believes the city has other investments that can be used to help pay for the deficit. He also said no alternate plans to address the deficit have been offered. He said it is unfair to those who leave the city for the winter, not use much water or have homes split into several rental units.

Mayor Pauline Repp could not be reached for comment.

Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @lvshepard.

IF YOU GO

• The Port Huron City Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday inside the Municipal Office Center, 100 McMorran Blvd.