Newport City Council is poised to rescind a controversial sewer fee increase that has outraged residents, particularly those with low water consumption.
The council held a workshop on Wednesday morning to address the issue after receiving numerous complaints about steep bill hikes.
During the nearly two-hour meeting, many residents shared that they saw their sewer charges more than double under the new rate structure implemented in July.
“This was a big, steaming, colossal hot turd of an error,” said Councilor Mark Aramli. “It was a mistake and we’re just going to put that out there right away.” Later in the meeting, City Manager Colin Kennedy would agree with this assumption.
The new fee structure imposed a minimum $81.18 monthly charge regardless of actual water usage. It was intended to shift more costs onto vacant second homes and seasonal properties.
“None of us, when we voted on this, understood what was going to happen to the bills of low consumption users,” Aramli said.
“I believe the ordinance needs to be rescinded and we just start from scratch,” said Councilor Lynn Underwood Ceglie, suggesting a complete reversal of the new water billing policy to address the issues it has caused.
Rob Schultz, Director of Utilities for the City of Newport, agreed with the Councilors, saying, “My recommendation or preference would be to roll back to the flat usage and let us come back to you whether that’s in January or something else.”
Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong said the council will likely vote next week during their Regular Council Meeting to rescind the ordinance and revert to the previous rate structure. Credits will be issued for overcharges.
“What you’ve heard consistently from this council is an acknowledgement that we didn’t get this right and that we’re sorry,” Khamsyvoravong said.
Schultz said reverting to the old rates will create a roughly $2 million budget shortfall. Some capital projects may be deferred as a result.
The council pledged to develop a more equitable long-term rate structure with public input. Options could include different rates for residents vs. non-residents or commercial properties.
“We’re going to fix this,” Aramli said. “We will get there. But something does have to happen to find the money.”
Water System Overhaul Could Cost Newport Hundreds of Millions
Newport’s aging water and sewer infrastructure needs hundreds of millions in upgrades, according to city officials. Schultz cited 100-year-old pipes and deferred maintenance as major issues requiring significant investment.
Schultz said modernizing the city’s water system could cost “hundreds of millions” of dollars. Councilor Aramli noted some residents are still drinking from pipes installed when the Vanderbilts built The Breakers mansion in the late 19th century.
“There’s two massive unknowns. It could be dramatically more,” Schultz said when asked about a $300 million estimate to overhaul the system.
Schultz said the city has nearly 100 miles of sewer mains, 50 miles of storm drains, and over 2,500 catch basins. Much of the system dates back over a century.
“We probably have 100 years of deferred maintenance that is catching up,” he said.
The city recently approved a $98 million infrastructure bond for the November ballot, which Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong said would “put a small dent” in Newport’s needs. He noted the bond could help secure federal matching funds for some projects.
“I live in a newer construction house. When I fill the tub up, my water is brown. I don’t drink the water in my house. I know when it leaves the water treatment plant, it’s good water. But these pipes, they do need help,” Councillor Aramli said.
“We have 350 miles of pipes that goes from here to Baltimore, and we have to make sure that they are in good shape,” Councilor Lynn Underwood Ceglie said.
Technology Issues Plague Newport’s Utility Billing System
Newport’s utility billing system is experiencing significant delays and errors, leaving residents frustrated and city officials seeking solutions.
The city implemented a new billing system on July 1, but it has been beset by problems, including interest calculation errors and a month-long backlog in sending out bills.
“The September bills are 18 days late. If the electronic file works today, it would take another week, or if the process through QAQC and get to the third party processor to get them mailed out. And then we’re about a week and a half away from, from running our October bills. So a month, we’re a month behind on bills right now, said Schultz.
Jim Nolan, interim finance director, explained that Munis was intended to be a comprehensive solution for the city’s accounting, utility billing, and other financial needs.
“We went a go-live date for utility billing on July 1. That was a project that many, many hours, working hours between utilities and our finance team. We worked closely to get to a place where we needed to be. We clearly did not get there for a number of reasons. The reasons, the majority of the reasons right now are due to the way that interest is being calculated. And there were programming flaws within Munis that caused those issues. There were patches that were put in in July for give the interest program that did not work correctly. Bills were charged, interests were charged incorrectly, and that’s what we’re trying to rectify right now,” said Nolan.
“Clearly, we’re having issues with utility billings that we’re doing everything we possibly can to address,” Nolan said.
The Newport City Council is now moving towards a decision to rescind the new fee structure and revert to the previous billing method.
Schultz indicated that a more comprehensive overhaul of the city’s water and sewer rate structure is in the works, with plans to engage consultants and conduct public outreach over the next 9 to 12 months.
“You’re going to hear a stormwater utility, you’re going to have up to five different methodologies for wastewater,” Schultz said. “Some of that may be commercial, residential, seasonal. All of those are going to be built into it.”
In the meantime, residents are advised to wait for their September bills before making payments, as the city works to resolve the interest calculation issues and implement any credits due from the fee structure change.
Update from the City of Newport
Update – September 23: The following workshop has been moved to the Ground Floor Conference Room due to the elevator being out of service at Newport City Hall.
On Wednesday afternoon, the City of Newport published the following press release on its website;
Council Expected to Rescind Sewer Use Fee
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
NEWPORT, R.I. — City Councilors held a special Workshop on Utility Billing on Wednesday, Sept. 18th at which they signaled a desire to repeal a new Base Sewer Use charge that had gone into effect on July 1st.
After listening to resident concerns, City Councilors are expected to rescind the base sewer use charge at their meeting next Wednesday, Sept. 25th and revert bills back to the structure that customers had expected prior to the introduction of the base sewer use charge in July.
Here’s what else Newport Water Division customers need to know:
✅ Bills will be delayed until the Council can formally adopt the change back to the old rates, and INTEREST HAS BEEN WAIVED for those who have not paid their previous bills.
✅ We’ve also suspended utility shut-offs and will be crediting back any undue interest paid as part of future billing cycles.
✅ Finally, depending on the Council’s final vote, anyone who was subject to the base use charge of $81.18 can also expect to be refunded in your next bill.
Thank you to everyone who turned out for Wednesday’s workshop, and we appreciate your understanding and patience through this process.
If you’d like to watch the meeting in full, head over to www.CityofNewport.com/TV and click on the City Council meeting tab.
