Combined water district approved

Commissioners vote 2-1 to merge 7 into 1; separate deal for Niles

WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners voted 2-1 to combine seven water districts to form the Trumbull County Combined Water District.

With the resolution Wednesday, the Bazetta / Champion, Braceville Township, Howland, Mineral Ridge, Mosquito Creek, Southeast and Warren Township water districts will merge to form the combined district. Although all seven districts will combine, each will remain as a subdistrict.

All seven districts charge different rates for water.

The Howland water district has the lowest rate, charging residents $6.86 per 1,000 gallons. The Mosquito Creek water district has the highest rate at $9.56 per 1,000 gallons.

For the time being, each subdistrict will keep its current rate, but all will be a part of the combined district.

"This is housekeeping internally," Commissioner Denny Malloy said. "So they don't have to deal with seven different types of bills, seven different names, seven different accounts. It puts it into one to make it convenient and streamlines government, to make less government. That's all this is doing. (They're) paying the same rates."

That might not always be the case. Malloy and Sanitary Engineer Gary Newbrough said that at some point, the combined district could move to one, standardized rate, in which each subdistrict pays the same amount.

Commissioner Niki Frenchko opposed the resolution, saying that it could be a fast track for the county to raise water rates for certain areas.

"This is basically the foundation for increasing water rates across Trumbull County," she said.

Newbrough said the resolution was not adopted with the intent of raising rates at this time. He said that certain districts, such as the Warren Township water district and the Mosquito Creek water district, are in poor shape financially, and that this resolution allows the township to boost those districts with the shared funds.

"The main purpose of the consolidation, financially, of these water districts is for us to not need any rate increases at this time," Newbrough said. "There are some districts that are in critical financial condition, this eliminates that. … If we combine the districts right now, as is, it buys us some time to evaluate what rate increases may be needed in the future."

Frenchko questioned the sustainability of the plan.

"How long is it expected that this is going to be sustainable without an increase, while we're having other districts subsidize the others?" Frenchko asked.

"I can tell you that this combined water district, it will be losing money," Newbrough said. "It's going to be losing money because we can't break even with where the rates are at, and it will need an adjustment and we will see how much that adjustment is required, but we have to look at the year-end numbers."

Malloy said that a rate increase most likely will be needed at some point.

"If we're getting water rates raised by the provider, we may need that some day," Malloy said. "We can't just keep going on forever with the same rates. We have some places on here, not to single out one, but Howland is paying $3 less (per 1,000 gallons) than Bazetta, and we can see the lake from where we live. There's things that need adjusted eventually, possibly."

NILES WATER

Commissioners also voted 2-1 to enter into an agreement with Niles city for the Trumbull County Southeast Public Water System.

The previous agreement was executed July 2, 2003, and is set to expire July 1. The newly approved agreement between the county and Niles will be for 10 years, with it expiring July 1, 2033.

The agreement will provide bulk water from the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District through Niles for the southeast public water system located in Brookfield, Hubbard, Liberty and Vienna townships.

Newbrough said that the city changed the way that it bills for water, saying that Niles previously had a tiered system in which the price would change after a certain number of gallons.

The city now has a single tier system. Newbrough said that with the negotiated rate, and considering flow data from 2022, the county could expect an approximate $130,000 upcharge. He said the tiered rate for 2022 averaged $3.56 per 1,000 gallons, and based on the flow data from 2022, the new average rate with the single tier system will be $4.06 per 1,000 gallons.

Newbrough said that after negotiating with Niles, the county thought that the rate it settled on is fair. Malloy agreed.

"We can't control what they charge for the price of water," Malloy said. "Over 10 years time, there is inflation for stuff. And I feel like the slight increase that we're going up to over 10 years is a pretty good deal."

Howland Township Administrator Darlene St. George addressed commissioners to share her concerns about the agreement.

"I don't think it is fair that the county commissioners will approve a contract that will allow annexation to be tied to the water," St. George said. "I just ask you to look at this because now is the time you can change that."

Newbrough said: "Most portions of the infrastructure that are within the city boundaries are owned by the city. If they annex out into the unincorporated area, they are also basically annexing the waterline. So that is how the agreement reads and it is in conjunction with the Ohio Revised Code.

" I don't know what we could write in this agreement to change that … if a property owner in the township wants to annex to Niles. I don't see any way this agreement could stop it."

Frenchko voted against the agreement as she wanted to table it to further discuss St. George's concerns about annexation.

Malloy and Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa voted to accept the agreement.