At a board of aldermen meeting last Wednesday, officials said they felt higher rates are needed to pump additional funds into the city's water and sewer rates to finance future improvements. "My concern, and the big concern of the board, is the future of the sewer and water fund for the city," said Mayor Dale Verges. "The money we're trying to put into surplus for projects has to be used for maintenance and operation of our present system." Verges said he believed city of Marthasville residents have not had an increase in water and sewer rates since 1991. The city presently charges a $6 minimum for the first 1,000 gallons of water each month. The next 4,000 gallons are billed at a flat rate of $2 and the next 5,000 gallons are billed at a flat rate of $1.75. Sewer rates, which are based on water consumption, include a minimum charge of $13 for the first 1,000 gallons and 50 cents for each additional 1,000 gallons. So a person who uses 10,000 gallons of water in a month would pay $9.75 for water and $17.50 for sewer. That would result in a total monthly bill of $27.25. Other Warren County municipalities charge more for the same services. Wright City residents pay $6 for the first 1,000 gallons and $2.90 for each 1,000 gallons thereafter. Sewer fees in Wright City include a minimum charge of $5 plus $2.90 for each 1,000 gallons thereafter. Warrenton city residents now pay $4.84 for the first 1,000 gallons of water consumption and $3.11 for each 1,000 gallons thereafter. Sewer fees for city residents are $7.92 for the first 1,000 gallons and $2.74 for each additional 1,000 gallons. "We know our (current) rates are the lowest of any municipality within our area," said Verges. "So we need to review where we are and where we'd like to be." As an additional incentive for increasing water and sewer rates for customers, officials said the city now is hard-pressed to apply for federal or state grants which are used to help finance improvement projects. "The people who handle grant funding will tell you a city isn't helping improve its status for eligibility with water and sewer rates that are far too low," said Verges. Verges said while the city's general fund for projects is "doing well," city officials fear further depletion of the water and sewer fund will prevent the city from undertaking necessary projects. Those include a proposed new water tower which is under discussion. City officials said the price tag for a new 250,000-gallon, aboveground water tower would be around $1 million. And with the price of steel rising steadily, the bill could go much higher the longer the city delays the project. The city projected water and sewer income of about $80,000 for the 2007-08 fiscal year, based in part on total revenue of more than $70,000 the previous year. "But we actually took in only about $67,000," Verges explained. "That created a shortfall we had to make up from the reserve project fund." Last week aldermen approved spending nearly $32,000 for a new pump for well No. 1 in the city of Marthasville. The pump, which will be capable of producing around 250 gallons of water per minute, has been virtually dormant for several years while the city relied on its primary well east of city hall. "This is the first step in getting a more efficient water supply to the residents of the city," said Verges. "We've been talking about it for some time and we have money in the budget for this project." Well No. 1 will become a second primary water source for the city. The costs include the design, construction and installation. No timetable for the completion of the project was given.