Highland Village water rates to rise

The Highland Village City Council received a presentation regarding the upcoming utility rate increase at their November 10th meeting.

The increase will result in a 3.6-percent monthly increase, or an additional $4 to $5 per month, on an average resident’s bill. The rate increase will show on the next utility bill that residents will receive the beginning of December.

The increase, the first since 2010, is directly related to the charges incurred from the Upper Trinity Regional Water District (UTRWD) for the purchase of water and wastewater treatment, city officials said.

Highland Village purchases water from the UTRWD and contracts with them for all of its wastewater treatment.

The wholesale rate increase is largely a direct result of the 48.5-percent increase the UTRWD incurred from Dallas Water Utilities, officials said.

There is no change to the city utility rate portion, which represents the amount charged for city staff to maintain water and sewer infrastructure, water well maintenance, production and service.

The UTRWD water and sewer charges are shown as “wholesale” on resident utility bills, representing the pass-through charges incurred by the city for the purchase of the water and wastewater treatment without any markup.

Council also approved a resolution authorizing a lease/purchase agreement with Horton Financial Services to finance the purchase of a new ambulance and a network storage device.

The ambulance will replace the 2009 ambulance currently in use as it has reached the end of its useful life.

The total purchase cost for the ambulance, a 2016 Ford F450 Horton Mobile Intensive Care Unit, is $249,980. Also part of the financing agreement is the purchase of a city network data storage device in the amount of $109,474.

During the Mayor’s announcements, Boy Scout Troop 262 presented a flag disposal box to the Highland Village Fire Department in conjunction with Veterans Day. The boys and their troop leader, Patrick McKeen, created the box to give the residents of Highland Village a location to drop off their worn and tattered flags for proper disposal in a flag disposal ceremony. The box will reside in the lobby of the fire department and is available to all local area residents.