RENSSELAER — The city’s Common Council unanimously voted to raise its water and sewer bills last week amid a public hearing influenced by a social media post and a notice that publicized inaccurate increases.
The Common Council, at its July 7 meeting, voted to raise the cost per 1,000 gallons of water use from $5.95 to $7.87 for residential customers. The change should reflect on residents’ water and sewer bills as about a $60 increase per six-month billing cycle, according to Common Council Chairman Eric Endres.
During the meeting, several residents took the time to speak in opposition to the proposal, with some questioning why they had received a notice saying the council was considering raising water and sewer rates by a purported 70%, which is much larger than the actual increase of about 22%, according to Endres. At one point, Endres interjected as a resident was speaking to say the proposal would not be raising water bills 70%…