FINDLAY, Ohio — People in Findlay should expect to pay more for water at the beginning of 2024 as city council gave its support Tuesday evening for a plan to raise rates.
Findlay resident Danny Delong said social media chatter he's seen from his neighbors shows they aren't happy with the hike.
"Everybody I talk to, (they're) going, why are they doing that?" Delong said.
He thinks the city doesn't need the extra money it will get from the hike and thinks the administration used inaccurate data the calculate the rate increase.
"I think they've done a good job over the years and they haven't proved to me that it's needed," Delong said.
Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn, however, said the increase is necessary because the city was "projecting that the water fund was going to become negative next year."
The city plans to raise the base and usage rates by about 50%, which Muryn said would increase the average bill by about $10.
People attending Tuesday's council meeting questioned why rates were going to be raised all at once as opposed to gradually over time. Muryn told WTOL 11 that the COVID-19 pandemic was part of the reason that caused a delay in installing new water meter equipment, specifically transmitters that send information from the meters to the city.
She also said Findlay's water rate is significantly lower than other cities in Ohio and claimed it would remain so even after the hike.
"We recognize that it is a large percentage increase, but it's on small dollars," the mayor said. "It's disappointing anytime you have to raise rates, but we're in a position that we have to do so to make sure we continue to invest in our infrastructure and serve our citizens in the way we need to," she said.
Delong still disagrees with the city's plan, though.
"We're not trying to keep up with the Joneses as such with the water rates," he said. "It's a good thing that our water rates are low."