Brooklynites sound off on proposed water rate hike

BY DENISE ROMANO & HELEN KLEIN

Brooklynites had a chance to sound off on the proposed water rate increase at a public hearing hosted by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection held at I.S. 228 in Gravesend on Tuesday, April 30.

“We have come to the point where we can’t afford anymore increases,” said Derrick Smith, who owns a house in Coney Island. “We need support, help and hope. [The DEP is] unforgiving and I feel strong-armed into paying what they ask. It’s like talking to a programmed machine. I would like to see DEP take more humane consideration.”

Bergen Beach resident Kevin Hiltunen contended that the mayor uses funds from the increases for Sanitation and Fire Department employees’ overtime.

“He double dips the budget. I gotta tell ya, like that guy running for mayor, my water bill is too damn high!” Hiltunen said, adding that his basement and car were destroyed by Sandy.

“How about you as a board say, ‘Enough is enough?’” Hiltunen went on. “It’s his last term. Want us to turn into Detroit? Keep taxing us like you are.

“In Sandy, we took a hit physically, financially and emotionally. Give us a break,” he went on. “You guys have a right to help us out.”

Melissa Haggerty of Sheepshead Bay said that her house was destroyed by Sandy. Even though it’s unlivable, she still gets charged $400 per month in estimated water bills, she said, adding that the DEP has barely done any outreach to her neighborhood.

“It’s sad that DEP isn’t coming down to residents and talking to homeowners about what’s going on,” she said.

Before the testimony began, DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland gave a presentation on how the Water Board works, how the city’s water rates compare to other cities and capital projects and priorities, including the $185 million Gowanus flushing tunnel and the $137 million Coney Island sewer infrastructure overhaul.

He told residents that water bills not only reflect a household’s consumption of water, it also covers costs of purification, transportation and maintenance.

“Increases can be a hardship to folks and we try to keep them low,” Strickland said.

But, according to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, one reason water rates keep going up is that the city is milking them to pay for other things. Specifically, said de Blasio, the Water Board pays the city rent for the infrastructure it utilizes, to cover the debt service on that infrastructure.

However, in recent years, he charges, the city has billed the Water Board a total of $700 million beyond what would be needed to pay off the debt; that money, he says, is “flowing into the city’s general operating budget.”

In fact, asserts de Blasio, “Those excess payments have helped fuel a doubling of water rates since 2007. When the mayor says he hasn’t raised taxes, he’s really only talking about the taxes you see. In truth, homeowners and businesses are getting socked again and again with hidden taxes like these water rate hikes.”

In 2007, the price of water per 100 cubic feet was $1.81; that will rise to $3.57 if the proposed rate hike is approved. In addition, says de Blasio, “Since 2005, annual rent has nearly doubled, from $109 million to $196 million in 2012 even though the cost of servicing old debt has actually declined significantly.”

Elected officials also testified against the hike. Congressmember Michael Grimm, Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis and Councilmember Vincent Gentile all submitted testimony calling on the DEP to stop taxing the city into oblivion, especially after toll hikes and the devastation from Sandy.

The Water Board will review all submitted testimony and vote on the hike on Friday, May 10.