Increases range from 4.7% to 13.3%

By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — Lake Orion’s Village Council introduced proposed water and sewer rates for the 2024-2025 fiscal year during its meeting on May 28, and scheduled a public hearing for their next meeting on June 10 at 7:30 p.m.
“The motion here, folks, just so you have it, is just to set the public hearing and then all of the comments and discussions will be at the public hearing,” council President Jerry Narsh said.
Narsh made the motion and council member Ken Van Portfliet supported the motion. Council member Nancy Moshier was absent.
The financial impact on the rates would be a 10.52% increase in the village’s water ready-to-serve charge, a 7.25% increase in the water commodity charge, a 4.7% increase in the sewer ready-to-serve charge and a 13.43% increase in the sewer commodity charge.
“Even though they’re this large, I want them to be larger,” Council member Michael Lamb said. “I feel that during our discussions, once again the village, in an attempt to soft-serve the suffering to the people, have neglected to include in your water and sewer rates, adequate funds to begin the process of saving to replace the pump stations next time.”
Lamb said increasing the rates further would “to take care of the future of the village.”
Improvements to the village’s sewer system, including the sanitary sewer pump stations, will be made now that the village authorized publishing a notice of intent to issue revenue bonds and reimburse the village for the proceeds of the bonds during a village council meeting on April 22.
If approved, the increases would be effective July 1, according to village documents.
The Lake Orion Village Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on June 10 in council chambers at Village Hall, 21 E. Church St. The council meets regularly on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.