Staff writer
Hillsboro supplies water to Peabody, and on Tuesday the Hillsboro city council approved a rate increase for Peabody, effective for 2015.
The cost per thousand gallons of water will rise from $1.48 to $1.85.
Stephanie Ax, Peabody’s city clerk, said the current charge for water consumption in Peabody is $3.60 per 100 cubic feet of water. The new rate will be announced at the Peabody city council meeting on Dec. 29, where council members will make official the water rate adjustment, Ax said.
Hillsboro projects a 2 percent increase in revenue from the sale of water to Peabody, from $70,000 in 2014 to $71,400 in 2015.
The Peabody city council agreed to the rate increase back in April, Paine said. Alerting Peabody officials earlier in the year allowed them to adjust their upcoming budgets, Paine said.
The agreement also imposes a surcharge of $2.00 per thousand gallons of water for over 50,000,000 gallons delivered in a calendar year.
“We did this to penalize for the waste of water used to flush their lines to keep the chlorine residuals up to standards,” Paine said.
Hillsboro residents and businesses also are expected to see an increase in their water bills next year. The Hillsboro city council has not yet approved new utility rates, but Paine said a 2 percent increase for the sale of water to Hillsboro residents would produce nearly $20,000 in new revenue for the city.