Can expect fee-shock in the New Year – Telemarksavisa

fee increase was adopted without debate during the municipal council meeting last Thursday.

For the meeting had unit manager Annelise Lønne submitted a note, in which she gave an account of why more fees sharply next year. But it is a complicated calculation – so complex that even the municipality must hire an outside consulting firm in dealing with fee calculation.

full cost

Municipalities services in water, sewage, sanitation and sludge removal shall be run full cost principle.

This means that municipalities can not charge more for these services than the municipality actually have expenses to deliver services.

But the fees set annually up from the partially assumptions of how big expenditures and revenues will be.

If it turns out for example that the municipality has taken into too little in fees and taxes one year, the profit must be returned to the subscribers within five years.

The same applies if the municipalities have taken too little into the fees and charges one year.

Then deficit covered by increasing fees and charges.

tripling

On average increase fees on water, sewage, refuse and sludge removal by 20.6 percent next year.

When it comes to water, so increasing subscription fee and annual fee respectively 50.1 percent and 48 percent next year. In dollars and cents means a total increase from 2562 million 3835 dollars.

Fee rates for waste will increase by 14.5 percent next year, from 3520 to 4030 respectively.

The biggest fee jumped come for those who need to empty septic tank sludge during the next year. Here is the increase in the entire 73.6 percent. The fee will increase from 1721 to 2988 respectively. Compared with 2013, when the fee for sludge removal was at 861 million, the increase of nearly 350 percent. But not all fees increase next year.

The rates for drainage fee will actually be reduced by 2.2 percent. In the three subsequent years, it is only added up to small increases of sewage fee.

– NOT EASY TO DETERMINING

Unit Annelise Lønne sorry that it comes relatively large fee increases in one gulp next year.

– It is unfortunately not so easy to calculate how we end each year with full cost statements within the various services. Sometimes we fall short of revenue or expense, and then the difference must be equalized in accordance with the rules, says Lønne.

– But did not you have a responsibility to have a certain predictability in the development of the fees? This is quite large fluctuations for private households who try to plan their own finances.

– We should perhaps have divided the increase over several years, recognizing Lønne.

Deputy Mayor Henriette Flies Vikre (FRP) points out that the increase of the fees were announced in the budget process last year.

– It is well, most of us who go into the details of the budget, and captures these signals? – It is enough, and we can become even better at communicating such, says Flies Vikre.