Hernando residents are staring down higher sewer bills after Mayor Chip Johnson stepped in to break a deadlock on the Board of Aldermen, approving a rate hike that will double some customers’ fees. City officials say the move is aimed at plugging a big hole in the city’s utility fund after a major shortfall surfaced in the books.
The board was split on the proposal until Johnson cast the deciding vote, narrowly approving a new rate schedule, according to Daily Memphian. That report notes that while certain sewer service fees are being doubled, other line items on monthly bills are being reworked under the adopted plan.
Why the increase?
City leaders are pitching the hike as an emergency fix for roughly $2.6 million missing from Hernando’s utility fund. Officials traced the gap to accounting errors and repeated contract cost increases that never made it into the budget, according to Action News 5. To steady things in the short term, the board has already raised garbage collection rates and signed off on a temporary transfer of interest revenue into the utility fund, as reported by DeSoto County News.
What residents will pay…