Sewer-Connection Fees Doubled For County System Customers

Wed., Jan. 17, 1996

Bruce Krasnow Staff writer

Spokane County Commissioners doubled sewer-connection charges Tuesday, phasing in the jump over two years.

Projections call for some 10,000 residential and commercial property owners to connect to the county sewer system over the next five years.

To pay for needed system improvements, utilities department staff wanted to boost the connection charge immediately from $555 to $1,075.

But after hearing three hours of testimony last week, commissioners Tuesday increased the fee to $835 per hook-up effective Feb. 1; and to $1,075 effective Jan. 1, 1997.

County officials hope the two-step hike pays for new trunk lines and sewage-pumping stations in the north suburban area, Moran Prairie and the Spokane Valley.

Commissioners also approved the current rate for a handful of property owners whose projects are under way - if they pay by Feb. 1. To qualify for that rate, projects must be completed in 12 months.

Among those paying current rates: a new Tidyman’s on Argonne and the Village Square Apartment complex nearby.

Neighborhoods within an established Utility Local Improvement District would also pay the current sewer hook-up fee.

Those paying the higher rate include 500 homeowners in Fairwood and Gleneden, where the developer installed sewers that run to a stand-alone treatment facility.

The county sewer system will hook into that facility this summer, diverting flows to Spokane’s main treatment plant on the Spokane River.

Residents in those homes argued they should pay the current rate. But Utilities Director Bruce Rawls said that couldn’t be done if the sewer system is expected to repay its bonds.

, DataTimes

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