<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3uTt4Q_19naZNdB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3uTt4Q_19naZNdB00" width="1200" height="600" >OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) - A new city study found Ottumwa homeowners may be paying more than their fair share of sewer cost. The city study shows single-family homes make up just 58% of sewer usage but pay 92% of the cost.Base fees fund the pipes and pumps that carry sewage across the city. City engineer Phillip Burgmeier said the data pointed to a clear problem.“It wasn’t fair how much single-family homeowners are paying. The cost wasn’t fairly being split up between the users,” Burgmeier said.<h2>How the disparity developed</h2>When Ottumwa’s sewer system was first built out, most people lived in single-family homes. There weren’t many apartment complexes, so everyone paid an equal base fee. That charge carried through the years, even as the city changed.The study found large users like apartment complexes and commercial buildings haven’t been paying their proportional share of infrastructure cost. Burgmeier said the city isn’t looking to raise cost, just make the split fairer.“We’re not trying to raise rates overall. We’re just trying to redistribute the cost of what we already spent money, we already raised this money but were trying to distribute out who contributes and make it more fair,” Burgmeier said.Ottumwa landlord Belinda Smith-Cicarella addressed council Tuesday night, stating per unit fees could hurt property owners and drive away new development.“We have one rental, for example, it’s a five-plex. So then we would be charged 20, 40, 60, 80, $100 a month extra on that five-plex that has five people in it,” Smith-Cicarella said.Leaders said if new changes are made 90% of accounts could see their bills decrease with any changes being revenue neutral, meaning the city wouldn’t collect more overall. The council will hold a work session March 24 to work through the details before any vote.</div></body>

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OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) - A new city study found Ottumwa homeowners may be paying more than their fair share of sewer cost. The city study shows single-family homes make up just 58% of sewer usage but pay 92% of the cost. Base fees fund the pipes and pumps that carry...

Ottumwa sewer rate study finds how sewer cost is shared among users

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OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) - A new city study found Ottumwa homeowners may be paying more than their fair share of sewer cost. The city study shows single-family

Ottumwa sewer rate study finds how sewer cost is shared among users

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