A balanced budget for fiscal year 2022 will be on the agenda for the Alexander City City Council Monday.
Given years of inaction on utility rates while losing large sums of money in sewer, rate increases will also be considered by the council. To keep the budget balanced, sewer rates, if approved would double Jan. 1, 2022, and go up 7% each year for the next four years. To start Jan. 1 the average sewer bill for 3,935 gallons of sewage would go from $34.95 to $69.90 and by the fifth year be $91.62. Rates would continue to increase after closely mirroring the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
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