Port Lavaca water rates to increase

Just like the tide, water bills in Port Lavaca are set to rise.

On Monday evening, April 8, Port Lavaca City Council considered a first reading regarding an increase in water rates by $1.97. During the meeting, the city also declared several buildings within city limits as substandard.

The increase in base water rates follows a previous increase made earlier in 2023 of $0.38, which was to pay for the Public Utility Fund’s share of the 2022 Series Bond payments for the Water System Improvement project.

“When we first started planning for the water systems improvement project, we thought originally we would be spending $393,688 of the 2022 series bond funds to supplement our American Rescue Plan Act grant funds. Last year, we did increase the water base rate to account for the debt service payment for that planned expenditure,” Weaver said. “But the bids came in at about $2 million over budget, and as a result, we have committed a total amount of $2,436,108 of the 2022 series bond funds. As a result, the Public Utility Fund’s share of the annual bond payments increased from approximately $20,600 to $127,900. Therefore, to collect adequate revenue from the water customers for a proportional share of this payment, we have proposed to increase the water base rate by $1.97.”

The cause of the $0.38 increase, according to Weaver, was to generate enough revenue in the public utility fund to pay $20,600 annually toward the debt service of the 2022 service bonds issued by the city; originally, the city intended to use $393,688 from the bond funds on the project. But, with the increase of costs, which will see the city spend $2,436,108, the city would need to increase the rate by $1.97 to pay for the public utility fund’s share of the bond payment. Weaver also noted that the cost of improvements to the water and sewer systems come directly from their respective rates, rather than tax dollars.

“This expenditure we’re making for a ground storage tank and high-pressure service pump station is being mandated by the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. It’s not anything we’ve elected to do; but we need more storage to comply with the regulations.” Weaver said.

Six structures were also brought forward to the city council by the city’s new code enforcement officer, Luke Wright. According to Director of Development Services Derrick Smith, inspections by the city deemed all six buildings to be substandard and, if not repaired and brought up to date by owners, would be eligible for demolition, followed by a lien on the property.

“When the city gets to the point where the council does go ahead and get bids to demolish, the property owner still has the right to appeal to district courts,” Smith said. “It’s a long process, but property owners are given plenty of opportunity to work with the city to amend the problem.”

During the public hearing for the structure, owners of the properties were given a voice to protest and speak before the council. One property owner, Michael Clay, stated that the city had a history of using the substandard building designation to target the south side.

Of the five structures presented, three were in Council District 1, one was in Council District 4 and one was in Council District 5. Of the six structures declared by the council to be substandard last year, two were in District 1, one was in District 2, one was in District 3, and two were in District 5.

“I understand what they’re saying about cleaning up the yards. But a lot of things have happened in the past. They’ve cleaned up the south side once before when Davila was the mayor, and all they did was destroy all the houses that were considered substandard. They stole all the antiques and all the wood; and the people lost their properties because they weren’t notified,” Clay said.

However, City Attorney Anne Marie Odefey explained the city’s process by which structures were classified as substandard housing.

“The fact is, we do extensive research about the property owners. We are required by law to give notice to the address on the property tax roll. If there is an estate that owns the property, I go and do research about the estate as well,” Odefey said.  “And we don’t take the property without allowing them to fix it themselves. If they are in such a dilapidated condition, then the city will demolish what is there and put a lien on the property.”