Jasper Council looks to end mandatory water rate increase

The Jasper City Council is looking forward to an ordinance lowering the city's water rates.
For some time, the city has imposed an annual 5% increase to its water rate structure to bring revenues in line with costs to operate the water department. In the past, other city revenues made up the difference between the actual cost of running the system and the amount of money collected by water customers. The state ruled the city could not continue to do that.
Mayor Michael Thomas announced to the council Wednesday, Feb. 19, that city water collections no longer need subsidized and the 5% annual increase is no longer mandatory.
The city council will hopefully receive next month a new water ordinance eliminating the annual 5% increase and only pass along the cost of water the city buys directly from the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority (OMRPWA) which sets its rates annually and bills its customers, Thomas explained.
The council gave the mayor permission to purchase a dump trailer for the city's waste water treatment facility. The city has annually contracted an independent hauler to remove and transport the sewer plant's chemically treated sludge to a certified landfill at Cherokee Village.

That hauler no longer wants the contract, Thomas said.
The city budget already has money for the service contract. Instead, $20,000 to $25,000 of that money can be used to purchase a dump trailer and the city can take over hauling away the sludge, Thomas proposed.
If after a year the added work is proven to be inefficient or unmanageable, the city can go back to contracting the service, Thomas said.
The council also gave the mayor permission to submit an application for a USDA grant for funds to help the city purchase a vehicle and a salt spreader to add to the city's fleet of rolling stock.