LITTLESTOWN, Pa. — Littlestown Borough residents are opening their mail to see an increase in their water and sewage bills, with many taking to Facebook to ask fellow community members if they also saw the jump.
Littlestown Borough officials say that the increase was communicated to residents and, despite inflation, everyone is trying to make ends meet.
According to Charles Kellar, Littlestown Borough Manager, the borough approved an almost 59% increase in residents' water and sewage bills back in April of this year. The increase would happen in two phases, one in June and another in January 2025. The borough reportedly hasn’t increased its rates since 2011.
This rate increase comes as many residents and Americans are grappling with inflation and already trying to cut costs where they can. Jennifer Klunk, a Littlestown resident of 10 years, said she wasn’t aware of the April decision and was blind-sided by the stark increase in her water bill for June.
“Normally in summer time it goes up a little bit because we’re watering flowers, but [this year] it jumped by $100,” said Klunk.
Klunk is a mother of three and has already cut costs for groceries, cable and more. She is now looking to combat the increase in her water bill by using paper plates instead of a dishwasher and asking her son to not take two showers even though he plays sports.
“We don’t live in a big house, so the size of our water bill for four people is astronomical,” said Klunk.
Another resident, Linda Labarri, has also lived in Littlestown for 10 years but wasn’t too shocked about her water bill because it only went up $25. Labarri says she doesn’t use much because it’s only her in the home, however, she is worried about the second increase in January 2025.
“I’m on a fixed income and where do you cut back? I don’t have a place to cut back,” said Labarri.
She said she can understand why residents are upset about the price increase because she too is making sure she can continue to live comfortably in the middle of high inflation.
“Any increase in anything when your income isn’t going up, causes a problem,” said Labarri.
FOX43 met with Charles Kellar, the Littlestown borough manager and police chief for 13 years, and asked why the borough and Littlestown Water Authority decided to approve an increase in rates after 11 years of keeping them the same.
“In order for us to maintain the system, we had to increase the price,” he explained.
According to Kellar, there were four options for the council to decide on, but they were able to narrow it down to two.
The first option was a billing cycle that would increase the bill all at once, and the second option, which was chosen, was to increase it in two parts - one in June and one in January of 2025.
“At the end of the day, [residents] are going to end up paying that kind of rate,” said Kellar.
The borough decided to approve the increased rates to help alleviate the costs the borough uses to run the water and sewage system. Kellar says they have been spending more in keeping water and sewage running in the past few years compared to times before inflation.
“To run the system is extremely expensive, and the cost of everything is going up. I mean, we have to haul [sludge] to a landfill, that went from $75 a ton to $115 a ton," said Kellar.
Residents also voiced concerns about the 500 homes that are going up right outside of Littlestown and how they believe the costs of water and sewage would factor into residents' billing. He said that the infrastructure wouldn’t cost the borough anything because the builders have to put in their own water and sewer lines.
“They have to put it into our specifications, they must put in all of the roads and dedicate them to our specifications and supply the water,” said Kellar. “It’s their responsibility to drill enough wells in order to provide the water for those homes… and that is all done at the expense of the builder.”
To cut back on costs, Kellar recommended checking lines and outside faucets for leaks. He said one of the biggest problems the borough runs into is water softener malfunctions. Kellar said when they flush, they tend to stick open and cause problems.
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