Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
The Williston Town Council passed the first reading of three ordinances at their May 13 meeting to increase the base rate for water, sewer, and trash services by $1.
The second readings will be held at the council’s June 10 meeting. If passed, the ordinances will become effective July 1, 2024.
Rates are increasing for Williston residents due to increasing vendor fees for garbage disposal and increasing prices for chemicals to maintain the water treatment plant. The town is hoping to recoup some of this cost.
“Not only have our vendors raised costs, but we see costs rising in everyday supplies. In order for the town to counteract the impact inflation has left we were forced to raise rates,” said town clerk Kayla Jerkins. “We did not take the decision lightly and did not want to hurt the citizens of Williston, because we can sympathize, as everyone has been impacted by inflation, as to why we only chose to raise the base rate by a dollar each.”
Trash
The new monthly rate for residential roll-out carts is $17. It was previously $16.
The fee will be assessed for each dwelling and for each unit in a multifamily dwelling. Residents having more than one roll-out cart will be charged the $17 monthly rate times the number of carts picked up. For example, two roll-out carts would cost $34.
Nonresidents, or residents living outside the corporate limits, are provided collection services upon approval of the sanitation supervisor. The rate for non-residents has increased from $22 to $23.
Trash services are currently provided by S&S Disposal based in Ehrhardt.
Water
The town has deemed it “proper, necessary and advisable” that the base rate of water services increase by one dollar, according to Ordinance 2024-04.
Each customer’s bill is composed of two charges: a fixed base rate and a consumption charge based on the volume of water measured in gallons used.
The base rate is dependent on the size of the water meter, which the most common single-family residence meter size being either ⅝ or ¾.
The monthly rate for residences living inside the corporate limits with water meters of this size will be $15.96, previously $14.96.
The new rate for residents outside the corporate limits, referred to as nonresidents, will be $23.45.
Sewer
The monthly cost for sewer services is calculated similarly to that of water rates with two charges: a fixed base rate and a consumption charge. It also includes the size of the meter at the residence.
For those with a ⅝ or ¾ meter, the monthly residence rate is $20.87, and non-residential is $30.79.
Rates for water, sewer, and trash services are billed on the customer's monthly water bill.
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