Rate increase to help water and sewer system revitalization

POMEROY–The City Council approved the 2022 budget during the December 7 meeting which includes a $4 monthly water and sewer rate increase, respectively.

The Council approved the 2022 budget and $4 monthly rate increase for water and sewer. The resulting City revenue will be used to support necessary improvements to the water and sewer system. This action was taken after due consideration of the needs for Pomeroy, and a comparison of what other similar municipalities of similar size are using.

For reference purposes, the accompanying table reflects monthly water and sewer rates for 2022 (it includes the increase approved by the City Council)

History reveals that a national crisis tends to spark an exodus from cities. As an increase of white–collar workers are given the option to be remote, families have decided to trade those exorbitant costs of living, higher tax rates, and failing public schools of many large cities for the benefits and the natural beauty in rural America.

CITY MONTHLY WATER MONTHLY SEWER TOTAL MONTHLY

Pomeroy $43/10,000 gal. $ 38.33 $ 81.33

Dayton $48.40/6,000 gal. $ 68.81 $ 117.21

St. John $44/5,000 gal. $ 44.00 $ 88.00

Tekoa $46.50/5,000 gal. $ 68.00 $ 114.50

Workers who were once tethered to office buildings downtown can today trade Seattle for Pomeroy. It can allow for tremendous economic growth, as well as sharp increases in business activity and property revenue. This windfall could allow these rural areas to keep tax rates steady to fund their vital public programs.

There is a window of opportunity here for Pomeroy and other rural communities. Like all windows, it will not be open forever. Through the leadership of the Port, one of our infrastructure issues has been solved. Broadband has changed the way we all conduct our lives and has made our town more attractive to those wanting to relocate.

But we still face one more hurdle that must be handled. The city water supply distribution system needs to be updated as it is inadequate for our present population, but it also makes residential expansion in critical areas of our community, such as the east end of town, difficult.

The Council has adopted a pro-active course in addressing the high-pressure water issue that negatively impacts the Depot addition in the east part of town and residents along main street to the Garfield County fire station, including homes located on Crescent Drive. A moratorium on new construction has been recommended and there are serious questions regarding the adequacy of fire suppression in the above-mentioned areas.

As we are experiencing, the pandemic is rapidly changing the way America does business and with it, a population shift.

For families in their 30s and 40s looking to relocate, we have very few options. As Doug Griffiths wrote in Chapter One of his book Thirteen Ways to Kill Your Community: “The first thing you can do to ensure the failure of your community is to have poor quality and quantity of water…the quantity of water available determines whether we can grow our town and our businesses.”

When the final history for the Coronavirus is written, one of the most dramatic narratives will be about this decline of major cities and the simultaneous revitalization of more sparsely populated areas. The effectiveness of this shift is ultimately left in the hands of rural America and how teach community reacts or acts upon these new demands.

-Contributed by Jack Peasley.