Minden water, trash rates to increase on July 1

Minden homeowners will be paying more for water and trash pickup effective July 1.

The town board voted unanimously Wednesday to increase water rates by 4 percent and trash rates by 7 percent.

"The reason for the fee increase is to cover operation and maintenance," said town board Chairman Ross Chichester.

"You are paying for a service you are getting," he said.

The increases mean the town's residential users will pay about $12 more annually for water and $13 more for trash pickup.

Chichester said that last year the town had to dip into reserves for $36,000 which would be covered by the 7 percent increase.

"We need to keep the reserves built up to keep the level of service we have. The operation and maintenance costs should be accurate to the point," Chichester said.

There was no public comment at Wednesday's meeting about the fee hike.

Minden resident Jeannette Alley sent an e-mail to the town asking the fees not be raised.

"As a senior citizen living in Minden with a set income, I find all these additional fees very overwhelming and picking away at my income," she wrote.

"Last year the Town of Minden raised our fees and it was a large jump and now you're talking about another raise?" she asked.

In 2005, the board raise water rates 8 and trash pickup 10 percent because it had been five years since the last hike. The board decided to raise rates annually to keep the increases lower.

The town serves 1,237 residential customers for trash pickup and 896 single-family homes and 341 patio homes for water.