OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Ocala residents may soon notice new or adjusted fees tied to their water and sewer service.

On June 17, the Ocala City Council voted unanimously (4-0) to approve changes to its water and sewer impact fee schedule after completing a second and final reading of the ordinances.

The changes are the result of a cost-of-service study led by Raftelis consultants, who worked alongside Ocala city staff to evaluate current rates and modernize the city’s fee structure. Many of the new charges focus on cost recovery for specific services – especially those tied to new development and customer service requests.

“The overwhelming objective of our rate and fee study in my mind, focuses on equity, making sure that we have an appropriate balance for the various customers and users of your water and wastewater systems,” said Murray Hamilton, Raftelis project manager.

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Among the new fees: charges for customer-requested disconnections, reconnections, and site visits. Ocala’s utility department handles around 6,000 work orders each year for these types of requests – but until now, there was no fee in place to help recover the associated costs.

A key change includes updating service deposits to reflect the actual cost of meters. “In talking with staff, what they’d like to do is set the cost of the meter based on the actual cost,” Hamilton said. “Whatever the stated cost is at the time that permit is collected, that will be the representative permit.”

Hamilton also noted that meter and valve tampering has become a significant issue on new construction sites. The updated ordinance includes provisions to help address those costs.

In addition, fees were added for wastewater compliance monitoring for industrial users and changes to temporary water service and meter test fees.

City Engineer Sean Lanier said the updates stem from a January 2024 decision to launch a new rate study, which follows the city’s last adopted rate plan from 2021.

The new charges aim to ensure those using or requiring additional services bear the cost, not the general customer base, while supporting a five-year financial forecast for the utility system.

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