Annette Beard
City water rates will increased due to an increase from the Benton/Washington Regional Public Water Authority which supplies water to Pea Ridge.
"This will be for Two-Ton which has voted for a rate increase to pay for expansion," city water utilities manager Ken Hayes told city officials. Hayes said he voted against the increase at the Two-Ton meeting.
"We're not tacking anything on, we're just passing it through," Hayes said.
During the November City Council meeting, council member Ginger Larsen asked whether the city could just absorb the rate increase and was told that the city had absorbed the last rate increase from Two-Ton.
"We made commitments in the bond action to run the department fiscally responsibly," city attorney Shane Perry reminded city officials. "We need to make sure we're honoring our commitments."
Mayor Jackie Crabtree said Hayes had lobbied against the measure at Two-Ton. "It wasn't in our wheelhouse," he said, explaining that the city officials did not want, nor could they prevent, the increase.
The rate increase is expected to go into affect in January 2022.
In other business, during the November City Council meeting, council members approved paying City Council and Planning Commission members for meetings attended in 2021.
All city employees were awarded bonuses as recommended by the mayor.
Full-time employees received $500 each and part-time employees received $250.
There are 42 city employees, according to city officials.
In other business, during the November City Council meeting, council members approved paying City Council and Planning Commission members for meetings attended in 2021.