The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has asked Virginia’s Beckley Common Council to not approve a requested rate hike for storm water and sewer services.
“We don’t need any more of this, here,” said Raleigh County NAACP President Barbara Charles, reported The Register-Herald. “How are people going to survive? Especially your seniors. Nobody gave anybody an 8 or 10% hike in their Social Security or anything. Gas is unbelievable, food is unbelievable, and now you’re going to go up on the utilities, so there’s some protest.”
Charles said she and others plan to attend the Apr. 26 meeting of Council to oppose the requested hike that Jeremiah Johnson, general manager of Beckley Sanitary Board, asked council to make, reported The Register-Herald.
The average residential user would see that the proposed sewer fee increase would be $12.40 per month and the storm water fee for a residential user, a flat rate, would increase $3.66 a month. The combined rate hikes for a residential user would be $16.06 per month or $192.72 per year, according to previous reports by Johnson, reported The Register-Herald.
Johnson said that the rate increases are necessary to update the older system, which would improve flood conditions in the Hartley Avenue/Beckley Little League/Pinecrest area. The cost of this project is projected to cost $5.6 million, reported The Register-Herald.
The project will require adjustments to both storm water and sewer systems, costing approximately $3.2 million and $2.4 million respectively.
The rate increase would allow the sanitary board to get a $5 million storm water improvement bond, according to Johnson, reported The Register-Herald. The bond also would ensure a $9 million investment in storm water infrastructure.
A meeting is scheduled at the Raleigh County Conference Center to address complaints as well, reported The Register-Herald.
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