The March billings to customers of the Eatonton-Putnam Water and Sewer Authority (EPWSA) will more accurately reflect the authority’s 8.7-percent rate increase enacted at the beginning of the year.
The average Eatonton residential customer, which has both water and sewer service, should see an increase of $5-10. The average Sinclair-area customer, which has only water service, should see an increase of $4-5.
However, neither increase should be measured against the customer’s January or February billings, which were affected by unusual circumstances surrounding burst pipes during and after the three-day “Christmas freeze.”
The January billings reflected about six weeks of usage (and spillage at nearly 300 homes and businesses) from the last few days of November through the first week or two in January. On the other hand, February bills reflected usage from only about two weeks.
Another consequence of the disruption caused by the freeze, as well as after-hours calls for service, came in last week’s monthly meeting of the authority board. The board heard an initial report about hiring a Marietta firm to deal with after-hours calls both to and from some or all of its 6,865 customers.
Currently, such calls are routed to the Eatonton Police Department, which triggers the dispatch of a crew to the site (at a typical cost of $75).
ESG Manager Brice Doolittle told the board that as many as 90 percent of the calls could have been handled the next day during normal working hours if a few scripted questions could have been answered.
County Commission Chairman Bill Sharp told the board about the possibility of moving the UGA Extension Service offices out of the old armory on Oak Way, with the county then gifting the entire building to EPWSA.
The idea, which was to be decided at this week’s Tuesday night meeting of the county commission, would have the Extension Service moving into the currently unmanned building at Jimmy Davis Park.
However, with nearby residents expecting the facility to operate as part of a park, Eatonton Mayor John Reid suggested, “You might be in for a fight.”