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Water and Sewer Authority OKs increase for some

The Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority on Wednesday passed its 2017 budget that features one rate increase for people using the authority’s regional water system.

The regional system encompasses Fairfield, Muncy and Muncy Creek townships, said Christine Weigle, executive director of the authority.

The increase is set at 10 percent for water consumption, which equates to roughly 5 to 7 percent increase per customer.

Weigle added that if customers practice water conservation techniques, such as turning off the water while brushing their teeth, they will be able to lower the increase.

“It’s a way for us to address the budget deficit but give the consumer some control over what they see in their bill,” Weigle said. “If we don’t have to pump and treat as much, then the customer can control their bill.”

Weigle said none of the authority’s other systems will be seeing an increase in 2017, with the exception of the Mifflin Manor Sewer System, which the authority is in the process of acquiring. The transition will be completed on Jan. 1, and customers can expect to see an increase from $100 per month to roughly $125 per month at some point in 2017.

The total budget for the authority is $4.9 million, with a surplus for the entire authority at roughly $47,000, Weigle said.

“We are not budgeted a deficit for our organization,” Weigle said. However, she added that some of the individual systems are showing deficits in their budgets as the authority might have acquired the system with multiple compliance issues that it now must rectify.

The authority is offering a 3 percent discount for customers in the Armstrong Sewer System, Beaver Lake Sewer System and the Montoursville Regional Sewer System. These systems offer a flat rate so the authority is able to offer a discount if the customer pays for the entire 2017 year up front, Weigle said.

The rest of the systems are consumption based and cannot be prepaid.

Board members present at the meeting were Michael Miller, Paul Wentzler, Jan Ransdorf, James R. Carpenter, Frank Forsha and Victor Marquardt. Charles Hall was absent.

The next authority meeting will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 4.

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