Fremont to raise some rates to avoid state takeover
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on March 20, 2016 1:45 AM
FREMONT -- The Fremont Town Board voted last week to raise the rates of several utilities in order to combat an ongoing financial crisis which threatens to place the town under direct state authority. The standard sewer rate in Fremont was raised by $2.50 from $16.50 to $19.00, while the garbage rate was raised $3 from $15 to $18. The town also decided to raise the rate it charges the town of Eureka, whose sewage Fremont handles, by 50 cents per thousand gallons.
The rate increases come as a result of ongoing issues with the town's aging sewage system. Most, if not all, of the towns sewage pumps are past their intended lifetime, leaks have sprung up throughout the pipe system, and Fremont recently took on a $70,000 loan from Goldsboro in order to repair their derelict pump station. However, the town's utility rates did not actually generate enough money to pay back that loan; in February the town collected just under $60,000 and was billed around $75,000 by the city of Goldsboro. Town Administrator Barbara Aycock said that the sewer rate increase in particular would help to not only pay back the loan, but to begin building up the town's reserve funds for the future.
If the town was not able to pull themselves out of debt, Ms.Aycock said, it would fall under the authority of the Local Government Commission, a state organization which would take the authority to set utility rates away from the board and set them as high as needed to fix the problem in short order.
The rate increases did not come without controversy. Directly before the changes were voted on, citizens of Fremont stepped forward to share stories of being unable to afford the utility bills as they stood. Mary Anne Bradshaw, a senior living by herself in Fremont on a fixed income, said that she spent nearly half of her check on utilities alone last month. A particularly harsh winter caused electric bills to spike for many in Fremont over the last few months.
The concerns of Fremont's residents did have an impact on the boards decision. The garbage rate increase was originally set to be $5, but after hearing stories like Ms.Bradshaw's, Alderwoman Joyce Artis moved to have the increase lowered to $3. The movement passed 4-1, with Alderman W.T. Smith casting the lone dissenting vote.
The town intends to pursue federal and state grants in order to help bring itself out of the red. Fremont has applied for the Community Development Block Grant four times, and been denied each time. Ms.Aycock said she is not sure why Fremont was denied, as the town meets the requirements to be awarded the grant.
Even with the troubles facing Fremont, it is important to note that the town is actually doing better than it has for many years, town officials said. For the first time in six years, the town's general fund was in the positive coming out of 2015, following two years of steady increase after being negative $201,503 in 2012. Although the sewage issues facing Fremont are dire, Mayor Darron Flowers spoke confidently about the town's future.
"We can see the light of day." Flowers said. "It's mighty gray, but we can see it."