Carroll county officials consider water advisory board

Freedom area residents want more say over bills

Freedom Area Citizens’ Council recommended creating a resident-involved board that would oversee water rates with the help of county commissioners.

The citizens’ council, a non-governmental body, is made up of Sykesville and Eldersburg residents who focus on Freedom area issues.

Officials and staff are gathering information and want public input on the proposed board, said Burk, who is working with Public Works Director J. Michael Evans and the Department of Budget. Residents can e-mail him at rburk@ccg.carr.org or call 410-386-2085, he added.

Burk hopes to make a proposal to commissioners in about a month, he said. The board could also look at sewer rates if the public would like it to, he said.

Some Freedom area residents consider county water rates excessive and would like more oversight on the rates.

Residents ‘‘feel like they’re getting soaked – figuratively and literally,” said Ross Dangel, Freedom Area Citizens’ Council member.

Michelle Carroll of Marriottsville said she paid $600 on her last utility bill for her family of six.

‘‘Water bills are exorbitant in general,” said Carroll, council secretary.

The council hosted a March 20 discussion in Eldersburg where Frank Schaeffer, Public Works deputy director, talked about water rates, a potential advisory board and the Freedom Water Treatment Plant.

The board’s mission and scope must be considered, Schaeffer said.

County water rates progress based on usage. Residents pay a charge for water ranging from $8.23 to $238.67, depending on the size of their water pipe; then they pay another fee per 1,000 gallons used.

The average home with a 5⁄8-inch pipe uses about 24,000 gallons per quarter, Burk said.

That comes to $100 for the water bill per quarter and $163 for sewer use per quarter, he said.

Residents can expect moderate increases of about 10 percent or less for their water bills, starting July 1, but sewer rates should remain stable, Burk said.

Residents also pay fees for water service.

The current connection fee is $8,222 for water and $1,059 for sewer, Burk said. The fees will help pay for a new water treatment plant on Liberty Reservoir, which is expect to open March 2009. The $27.4 million plant will sit beside the current one on the shores of the Baltimore City-owned reservoir.

Nicole Musgrave-Burdette, citizens’ council president, said her group believes Freedom area residents should have more say in their water rates given that the treatment plant serves the county’s largest unincorporated area.

Freedom’s water system serves 8,037 users, which is the largest in the county, according to county budget documents.

Burk said he intends to propose a board that broadly represents all users.

The county is also responsible for Hampstead’s sewer (Carroll’s second largest customer) and also serves Bark Hill, Bramble Hills and Pleasant Valley, Burk said.

What do you think?

Residents can let Carroll County Comptroller Robert Burk know what they want from a water rate advisory board, including its mission, resources and information. Contact Burk at rburk@ccg.carr.org or 410-386-2085.

By the numbers

24,000: average number of gallons Carroll County water customers use per quarter*

8,037: users on the Freedom water system

$100: average water bill per quarter*

$163: average sewer bill per quarter*

$8: Chesapeake Bay restoration fee collected per quarter

$8,222: one-time water connection fee

$1,059: one-time sewer connection fee

92 cents and 91 cents per foot: maintenance fee for water and sewer lines, respectively

* based on 5⁄8-inch pipe

Source: Robert Burk, Carroll County Comptroller