City council in McAlester approves utility rate hikes

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) -- Residents in McAlester will be paying 30 percent more for water, sewer and trash service to help the city deal with a budget deficit of about $1-million.<br/><br/>The City Council

Wednesday, October 26th 2005, 2:33 pm

By: News On 6

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) -- Residents in McAlester will be paying 30 percent more for water, sewer and trash service to help the city deal with a budget deficit of about $1-million.

The City Council voted 5-to-1 for the increase that raises the minimum residents will pay for water by $2.75 per month. Sewer service will increase by a minimum of $1.69 and garbage rates are rising nearly $5.

City officials have said the deficit is largely from bond debt payments growing by 15 percent a year and from inflated projections on how much sales tax revenue the city would collect.