The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Feb. 9, at Arnold City Hall, 2101 Jeffco Blvd., to provide information and get feedback about a sewer service rate increase Missouri American Water Co. is requesting for Arnold residents.
A question-and-answer session will begin at 11:30 a.m., and at noon, the PSC will begin taking testimony from the public.
Then, the PSC will consider that information when deciding whether to approve the rate increase.
Missouri American is asking to raise Arnold residents’ sewer service fees from $24.33 a month to $30.50 a month, based on customers who use 5,000 gallon of water a month.
If approved, the increase would not go into effect until June or July, Missouri American reported.
The city of Arnold sold the system to Missouri American in May 2015, after Arnold voters approved the sale in November 2014.
Arnold netted about $9.2 million from the sale. In addition, the sale relieved the city of millions in debt to the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District.
Missouri American has asked the PSC to approve rate increases for both the sewer and water service that it provides around the state.
In Jefferson County, Missouri American also provides sewer service to Cedar Hill customers, and a rate increase has been proposed there, which, if approved, would raise fees from about $65.22 a month to $69.50 a month.
Missouri American also sells water to four Jefferson County water districts, including Public Water Supply District 1, which serves Arnold residents; Public Water Supply District 3, which serves the Fenton area; Public Water Supply District 10, which serves customers in parts of Imperial; and Public Water Supply District C-1, which serves customers in unincorporated Arnold and parts of Imperial and Barnhart.
If the PSC approves Missouri American’s rate increase request, then the cost for those companies to buy water will go up, too.
Missouri American is asking for about a 16 percent rate increase for the water it sells to districts 1, 3 and 10. The company has a different kind of contract with District C-1, which calls for annual rate adjustments.
The Feb. 9 public hearing primarily will focus on the proposed increase for Arnold sewer customers, but anyone from the water or sewer districts served by American Water may attend and ask for information.
Those who cannot attend the public hearing may submit written comments to or request information from the Office of the Public Counsel, P.O. Box 2230, Jefferson City, 65102, or the Missouri Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 360, Jefferson City, 65102.
For more information, contact the Office of the Public Counsel at 866-922-2959 or opcservice@ded.mo.gov, or the PSC at 1-800-392-4211 or pscinfo@psc.mo.gov.