Rock Hill council OKs utility hike, delays impact fee vote

The Rock Hill City Council approved higher rates for utility customers Monday, but delayed a vote on increasing impact fees after a developer called the proposed hikes “astronomical.”

When the new budget year kicks in July 1, Rock Hill electric and sewer customers will see an average increase of around $2.40 in their monthly bills. It is the 14th year in a row the city has increased utility rates, although this year’s adjustment is lower than recent increases.

The total increase includes a hike of $1.93 per month in electric charges, or 1.5 percent, and an increase of 73 cents per month in wastewater charges (1.85 percent) for an average customer.

But at the same time, the city will give customers a reduction in their water bill to the tune of 77 cents per month – combined with the wastewater increase, that’s a drop of 4 cents in total on the water bill.

In approving the $2.25 million budget, however, the council agreed to delay a final vote on increasing water, sewer and fire impact fees assessed on new development. The fees are not paid by existing customers.

Developer Warren Norman told council members the proposed fee increases are “astronomical.” Norman said some of the information presented to council members must have been wrong or misleading.

“This will thwart growth,” Norman told the council.

The city of Rock Hill enacted impact fees in 2003 and has not increased them since. But city officials said fee increases are needed to raise revenue for improvements in the city’s water treatment systems.

Under the proposal, combined water and sewer impact fees would vary depending on meter size, from $3,180 for a project with a three-quarter-inch meter to $397,500 for a development with a 10-inch meter.

Fire impact fees, used to build new fire stations and buy fire vehicles and equipment, also would increase, from $495 to $744 for a single-family home and $132 to $369 per 1,000 square feet for manufacturing.

Norman told the council that the proposed increases would raise the impact fee for a 2,000-square-foot restaurant with a 2-inch water line from $7,521 to $26,672, or up more than $19,000 for that project.

For a hotel with a four-inch water line, Norman said, the impact fees would increase from $37,608 under the current structure to $122,620 under the proposed plan.

“I can’t sustain another $100,000 fee on top of a hotel,” Norman said.

The council agreed to delay the impact fee vote to allow for further study, approving the budget without $345,000 in revenue budgeted from water and sewer impact fees. City officials said fire impact fee increases did not impact the budget.

This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Rock Hill council OKs utility hike, delays impact fee vote."