Village sends PSC water rate request

Village of Wittenberg residents can expect their water bills to increase, but by how much remains to be seen.

Concerned about ongoing budget deficits at the Wittenberg water utility, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in October ordered the utility to submit a comprehensive rate request by Feb. 20.

The village board last week approved and submitted the request prepared by Kerber Rose Certified Public Accountants to the PSC.
William Switalla, village president, said it’s too soon to tell what the PSC will do with the water rates. But, he added, “like everything else, the cost of things keeps going up.”

The PSC wants all municipally owned utilities to not only have a positive annual net income, but also enough cash on hand to support 90 days of normal operating expenses. In the past two years, the Wittenberg utility has reported a combined loss of $147,518 and, as of Dec. 31, had “zero days of cash available,” according to the PSC.

However, the financial picture is not as dire as it appears, Switalla said.

“There are times when the village has had to pay the difference in the water bill, but it’s all taxpayer money,” he said. “It’s all coming out of the same bucket.”

Wittenberg had not filed a comprehensive rate review since 1995. It was granted 3 percent increases in July 2013, September 2015 and December 2017 in “simplified rate cases,” which the PSC authorizes to allow utilities to keep pace with inflation.

Utilities can request a simplified rate increase of 3 percent on three consecutive occasions before they usually are required to submit a comprehensive rate case.

The request filed last week is just one step in a lengthy process, said Traci Matsche, village treasurer and clerk. Next, the PSC will assign Wittenberg a docket number.

After that, the PSC will have 90 to 180 days to review the information before establishing a new rate.

Residents and businesses all pay the same rate, and their bills are based on consumption and meter size.

Comparing minimum quarterly bills (based on 5/8-inch meter) to other municipalities, Wittenberg’s meter rate is $11.65, Birnamwood $15, Tigerton $19.31 and Shawano $26.28, according to information provided by the PSC.

The current rate is $1.51 per 1,000 gallons of water. Average residential water customers currently pay $29.77 quarterly for 12,000 gallons of water and the meter charge.

The water bills are sent out quarterly and include sewer rates as well, which are $6 per 1,000 gallons. That rate is not affected by the PSC recommendation.

Matsche noted that Wittenberg residents can add money to their water and sewer account at any time, rather than waiting for the quarterly bill to arrive. Those who cannot make the full payment at the end of each quarter have the option to fill out a deferred payment agreement, which will keep their water from being disconnected if they pay the amount before the next quarter. Essentially, this gives residents an additional three months to pay instead of 20 days if a disconnection notice is issued.

Board member Brian Hamm noted that the money to pay for preparing and filing the application was already in the 2018 budget.

“We knew we were going to have to deal with it, so we planned ahead,” he said.