Report: Jackson sewer rates 'compare favorably'

Jackson's sewer rates compare favorably to similar Missouri communities, according to a new rate study presented to the Jackson Board of Aldermen during the board's study session Wednesday night.

"We are pretty comparable and fairly competitive," said Jackson's director of public works Kent Peetz, who prepared the study at the request of Alderman Paul Sander.

Jackson's current wastewater sewer rate for customers using approximately 5,000 gallons of water a month is $30.25. However, the rate will increase slightly at the end of this month, mirroring a 2/3% increase in the nation's consumer price index.

Peetz compared Jackson's monthly sewer rates to about a dozen other municipalities in Southeast Missouri and elsewhere in the state and found 2020 rates for 5,000 gallon/month users ranging from a low of $24.95 in Kennett to a high of $59.61 in Moberly.

However, the comparisons were not always "apples to apples," Peetz said.

"There are more ways to fund a municipal utility other than just user rates," he said. "Some cities use sales or property taxes to fund the (wastewater) utility (and) some cities have different rates for commercial or industrial users."

In terms of land area and population, Poplar Bluff with a population of about 17,200 and 11.6 square miles was the most similar in the study to Jackson's population of 14,700 and 10.1 square miles. While Popular Bluff's 2020 wastewater rate of $29.50 for residential customers using 5,000 gallons of water per month was lower than Jackson's rate, commercial customers in Poplar Bluff pay substantially more than commercial customers in Jackson.

Rates are also slightly higher in Cape Girardeau, according to the study.

Other discussions

In addition to the wastewater rate study, other topics discussed by the Jackson aldermen at their study session Wednesday night included:

• Proposed repeal of on-street parking along a section of Missouri Street between Cherry and Washington streets as requested by the Cape Girardeau County Commission.
• Plans for construction of new restroom facilities later this year at Leist Memorial Band Shell in Jackson City Park, as well as a force main and lift station that will be required for those restrooms.
• A grant opportunity under the 2021 Missouri Department of Natural Resources Land & Water Conservation Fund Grant Program to help fund lighting of four fields at Jackson Soccer Park.
• The leak of an old water line at the corner of Washington and High streets and the Jackson Public Works Department's plans to resolve it next week.

Jackson Board of Aldermen study sessions are normally held on the first and third Monday nights of each month following the board's regular business meetings. However, the meetings were moved this week to Wednesday night to avoid conflict with observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.