All residential and some commercial customers will soon pay $300 more in initial charges for connecting to city-county water service.
Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority board members approved increased tap fees for residential and certain commercial/industrial accounts when meeting last Tuesday.
Water tap fees in meter sizes ranging from ¾-inch to 2-inch will increase as a result of the changes, which go into effect July 1.
Gary McVey, water authority director, attributed the higher tap fees to significant price increases and limited availability of materials. The tap fee is the construction and material costs to install a specific size meter, he noted.
Per the revised tap fee schedule, the cost for a ¾-inch water meter increases from $765 to $1,065, while a 1-inch commercial/industrial tap goes from $1,230 to $1,530. The biggest hike is for a 2-inch commercial/industrial meter, up from $5,000 to $7,500.
“That’s due to the materials we (use to) construct the vault and the increase in meter costs,” McVey said. “Most of your motels and some of your restaurants have 2-inch (meters). Anything above a 2-inch meter, we’ve always done at cost because there’s not many of those that come in.”
The ¾-inch meter is the only water service option available for residential customers, but it was previously also an option for some commercial/industrial customers. With the revisions, the minimum size for any nonresidential facility is now a 1-inch meter.
The revisions will not change impact fees and deposits charged to water authority customers, McVey confirmed.
Current impact fees for residential services are $610 for water and $544 for sewer (if available). Residential customers are also required to pay a $100 deposit and $25 connection fee.
Those who complete all necessary requirements prior to July 1 will pay the unadjusted tap fees, McVey confirmed.
“That window shuts July 1. There will be no retros,” he added.