PUBLIC NOTICE TO ALL CUSTOMERS OF THE

ALBANY MUNICIPAL WATER AND SEWER UTILITY

The Albany Municipal Water and Sewer Utility has filed an application with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) to increase water rates.  The increase is necessary due to a 79.87 percent increase in gross plant investment and a 60.77 percent increase in operating expenses since the last water rate case was completed in 2015.

The total increase in water revenues requested is $110,021 which will result in an estimated overall rate increase of 45.00 percent over the water utility’s present revenues.  If the request is granted, the water bill for an average residential customer with a ⅝-inch or ¾-inch meter who uses 9,000 gallons of water per quarter will increase from $75.23 to $99.48, or 32.23% (not including the public fire protection (PFP) charge), and will increase from $75.23 to $130.23, or 73.11% (including the direct PFP charge).

Currently, the Village of Albany collects a municipal PFP charge (100 percent of the total PFP cost) from property taxes and pays this charge to the water utility. The Village of Albany recently approved changing the method of recovering the PFP charge from a 100% municipal PFP charge to a combination of a municipal charge and a direct charge, which is collected directly from Utility customers. Therefore, the Utility has requested $100,000, or 61.6 percent, as a municipal charge, and the remaining $62,391, or 38.4 percent, as a direct charge on the customer’s water bill.

A telephonic public hearing on the application has been scheduled for Thursday, May 30, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. in the Meeting Room, Albany Village Hall, 206 North Water Street, Albany, Wisconsin.  Scheduling questions regarding this hearing may be directed to the PSCW at 608- 266-3766.

A person may testify in this proceeding without becoming a party and without attorney representation.  A person may submit this testimony in only one of the following ways: 

·        Web Comment.  Go to the Commission’s web site at http://psc.wi.gov, click on “File a Comment”.  On the next page select the “File a comment” link that appears for docket number 40-WR-102.  Web comments shall be received no later than the day before the hearing.

·         Oral Comment.  Spoken testimony at the public session.

·         Written Comment.  Instead of speaking at the hearing, write out a comment and submit it at the public session.

·         Mail Comment.  All comments submitted by U.S. Mail shall be received no later than the day before the hearing and shall be addressed to: Attn: Docket 40-WR-102 Comments, Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 7854, Madison, WI 53707-7854.

The PSCW intends to webcast this hearing live on the PSCW’s web site at http://psc.wi.gov under the “PSC Live Broadcast” button.

All documents in this docket are filed on the Commission’s Electronic Records Filing (ERF) system. To view these documents: (1) go to the Commission’s E-Services Portal at http://apps.psc.wi.gov, (2) enter “40-WR-102” in the box labeled “Quick Single Docket Search,” and (3) select “Documents”.

If you have any questions, please contact the Albany Municipal Water and Sewer Utility at 608- 862-3240.