JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The JEA Board of Directors will consider raising electric, water, and sewer rates on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Price increases on just about everything are already hitting the wallets of Jacksonville residents like Jeanette Williams hard these days.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t even buy two pounds of ground beef for under $20, and that\u2019s sad,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n
So, when we told Williams JEA would be considering raising rates under a plan that could increase her monthly bill by about 3.5 percent, she wasn\u2019t thrilled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they need to approve it because it\u2019s already high. I mean, how high can you go?\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n
Under the proposed rate hike, the utility would generate $106.8 million in additional annual revenues.<\/p>\n
According to the utility, residential customers would see their water, sewer and electric bills rise by a total of $8.61 a month on average.<\/p>\n
The average JEA residential bill would still be lower than those in other major cities like Tampa, Pensacola and Tallahassee.<\/p>\n
But the new rate would now result in JEA\u2019s residential customers paying more than Miami residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, more than Miami, that\u2019s an outrage,\u201d said Councilmember Rory Diamond )R-District 13).<\/p>\n
Councilmember Diamond argued the rate hike is unacceptable given the other financial strains residents are facing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your competitors are doing it for less than you need to reform. You need to get better, not just come back again to the ratepayers and ask for more money,\u201d said Diamond.<\/p>\n
JEA told Action News Jax the rate hike is intended to help pay for critical infrastructure improvements to ensure the utility can keep up with the growing demands on its systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese investments help ensure reliable service, improve resilience, support sustainability goals, and prepare our community for future growth,\u201d a JEA spokesperson said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n
But Diamond argued if JEA were to reduce its annual city contribution, which exceeds $100 million each year, the rate hike could be avoided.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s already a backdoor tax that JEA pays the City of Jacksonville every year that they don\u2019t have to do, which just makes no sense at all,\u201d said Diamond.<\/p>\n
If approved during Tuesday\u2019s hearing, the new rates would kick in on October 1st.<\/p>\n
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