Township Set To Raise Water Rates In January

Montclair residents will likely see a 3 percent hike in their water bills beginning in January under an ordinance passed on first reading by the Township Council on Tuesday evening.

At the same time, the Township would like to offer some kind of incentive program in the future for those homeowners who conserve water.

"In the future you could save 25 percent if you use less water ... there could be a kind of incentive program put in place," said Mayor Jerry Fried.

The council plans to host a public hearing on the water bill issue before holding a final vote on the ordinance at a meeting later this month—although council members might be hard-pressed to establish a quorum.

"We've adopted a policy of having a small increase every year instead of having a large increase every so often," Deputy Mayor Kathryn Weller-Demming said.

The council also would like to add a third tier of payments for those who use an excessive amount of water—or who surpass 13,000 cubic feet per day.

These users wouldn't be residential users—but business or commercial ones.

Councilor Nick Lewis said that, fortunately, Montclair enjoys some of the lowest water rates in the area.

"We still need to pass this ordinance on the second reading at the final meeting of the year ... we are trying to find a date for that meeting," he said.

Lewis said it won't be easy because both the mayor and Councilor Rich Murnick will be away later this month.

"We would have to pass a resolution waiving the 20-day waiting period to get these new rates in effect as of January 1st," he said.