PARK FALLS, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – People in Park Falls recently received their quarterly water bill, and many found their costs increased significantly.
Due to several messages flooding city staff, Mayor Tara Tervort and City Administrator Brentt Michalek were among those on hand to answer questions Wednesday at the Park Falls Public Library. “We wanted to provide this meeting [Wednesday] to answer some of the basic questions that we’ve heard online and we’ve had calls and emails about. We wanted just to have an open dialogue,” Tervort said.
People have claimed their bill had increased by more than $100, and the reasons given for why date back several years.
“Everybody’s rates on just about everything has gone up since 2010; however, your water utility hasn’t changed since 2010,” Michalek explained. City leaders had decided to keep residents’ water rates the same instead of going through a scaled increase year by year.
What set things into motion for the present day was when the Park Falls Paper Mill had stopped its operations, and the city was unable to quickly replace its largest user of water, putting the burden on residents.
Michalek says there had needed to be a break-even point per the Public Service Commission.
Comments