The Bourbon Town Council held a hearing over a proposed hydrant fee ordinance when members met on Tuesday.
No comments were provided in favor or against the proposed document. It was subsequently passed during the regular meeting. It will take effect on January 1st of 2020.
Clerk-Treasurer Kim Berger previously explained that about $60,000 is paid out of the General Fund on an annual basis to cover the cost of hydrant fees.
In order to help cover that cost an ordinance was created which includes implementation of a hydrant fee that will be applied through a multi-phase, incremental increase to utility bills.
In a past interview, Clerk-Treasurer Berger shared that every other Marshall County municipality has a hydrant fee in place and so do most other towns and cities around the State. She added that one Town of a comparable size charges around $9 for theirs.
According to the ordinance that Bourbon officials passed Tuesday night, in phase one the public hydrant surcharge would be $1.65. In phase two, which would take effect on August 1, 2020, the charge would increase to $3.39.
In the third phase, which would go into effect in August of 2021, it would be $5.09 and in the fourth and final phase which would be implemented in August of 2022, the surcharge would be $6.79.
Those fees are related to a meter size of 5/8 – 3/4 in. A larger meter size would result in higher charges.
Click the following link to view the Town of Bourbon’s Hydrant Fee Ordinance.
