Birmingham, AL – A court-appointed official is recommending a 25 percent rate hike for Jefferson County sewer customers.
The county is trying to avoid filing bankruptcy over a massive debt for sewer improvements, and receiver John Young Jr. said in a statement Tuesday the fee increase is needed to make the system financially viable.
While the county has amassed more than $3.1 billion in sewer debt since 1997, Young says rate increases haven't kept up. He says officials will try to set up a program to help low-income households that can't afford the rate increase.
Residents will have a chance to voice their opinions on the proposal at a public hearing set for June 29 in Birmingham.
Jefferson County is trying to avoid filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)