ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 26, 1997 TAG: 9704280050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON THE ROANOKE TIMES
City Council will be asked to approve a bond issue to cover the cost.
Salem's water rates would increase 30.4 percent during the next two years under the proposed $79million 1997-98 budget presented to City Council on Friday.
A boom in commercial and residential development in East Salem will force the city to supply 2 million gallons more water there. Building a new water tank and supply lines is expected to cost about $5million.
City Council will be asked to approve a bond issue to cover the cost. The water rate increase - proposed to be phased in by about 15 percent each year - will repay the bonds and keep the water department's operating costs at a break-even point, City Manager Randy Smith said.
During May work sessions, City Council will have to decide where it wants to put the water tank. One possibility is east of the YMCA building on the former Roanoke College Elizabeth Campus, which the city purchased last year. Another is next to the city's existing water tank at Morwanda Park. City engineers are considering other locations but have not made them public.
The water project likely will delay another much-discussed project, a golf course at Mowles Spring Park, Smith said. Plans for a course have been discussed for about two years. The city hired an architect last year to design a course and come up with cost estimates, but nothing has been presented to City Council.
"I don't anticipate any movement to build right away," Smith said. "We've just got a lot of things on our plate."
Salem's last water rate increase was 10.7 percent in 1992.
Salem's rate for 5,000 gallons of water per month is a minimum of $7.75, a little more than Roanoke City's $6.18 but much lower than Roanoke County's $24.11.
The city finance department is creating several options for working the 30.4 percent increase into the rate structure, including a flat rate and a tier structure to make it less costly for businesses that depend on a large water supply, Finance Director Frank Turk said. City Council will consider those options in May.
No taxes would change under the proposed budget. The city expects to end the fiscal year with a surplus of about $501,000 in its general fund.
City Council will hold a budget work session May12 at 7 p.m. and will continue May 13 and 14 if necessary.
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