John Coffelt, Editor

Following a water rate increase that failed to pass at the July 1 Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting, the city is facing a tough choice: cut much needed repairs or face state-set increases.

During the July meeting, a water rate increase that amounted to roughly 36% failed to pass 3-2 with Aldermen James Threet and Donny Parsley offering the no votes. That ordinance also included changes in connection fees and other one-time departmental fees. The matter was returned to the Finance Committee where it received a recommendation 2-1 to raise the water rates by 35%.  

During the July 15 Finance Committee meeting, Finance Director Anthony Burrows offered a stark, black and white analysis of the water department’s fiscal situation. Burrows said that the 2025-26 Water Department Budget that passed along with the city’s budget on June 19 includes repairs to the Manchester Water Treatment Plant and the wastewater collection system. That budget was developed using anticipated revenues from a rate increase.

“To the Finance Department this is just math,” he said. “The bottom line is we’re delinquent in doing some of these capital improvements.”

Burrows said that the method of implementing either a series of gradual increases over time or a sharp increase all at once is a matter of policy to be set by the elected officials, yet the dollars that are needed to do the capital projects that the city needs

“If we don’t increase the rates in some shape or form, I will have to go back to Director Perry and ask him to reprioritize his capital project list and tell me which ones he’s scratching off.”  

Burrows shared the opinion of the mayor that the state would likely step in and mandate a rate increase if the Water Department budget continues to dip into the red.

“If the state came in today, I could almost guarantee … that the 35% would probably be doubled,” Burrows said. “The state doesn’t mess around. They would come in and say you are required to …up it.”

The motion to recommend the rate increase came 2-1 with Aldermen Mark Messick and Thomas Crosslin voting yes and Alderman Donny Parsley voting no.

Parsley questioned raising the water rate for Hillsville Utility, but their contract is locked in for an additional four years.   

“I think we have a lot of elderly people here who really can’t afford it,” Parsley said.

More work to do

The ailing city sewer system repairs are paying off and showing a dramatic improvement from just a couple of years ago, but there is still much more work to be done.

Mayor Joey Hobbs said that in the month of May the city received a higher that average amount of rainfall, yet the repairs to the sewers have reduced inflow and infiltration (I&I) to the point that the plant intake was down 13 million gallons compared to May 2024.

Water Director Jeffery Perry said that there were no manhole overflows in recent months.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done still,” Vice Mayor Mark Mesick said. “And they don’t have the reserves to do it.” 

The Water Department operates on an independent budget that, by state statute, cannot receive city funds from tax revenue.

“We were up to 20-something overflows at one time,” Hobbs said. “The work he’s doing with his team is paying off.”

“We can either sit and hope, or we can continue to move forward,” Hobbs said.

Revenues can only come from water rates, and they must balance expenses.

“I fear if we let this go on it will back us up considerably,” Crosslin said.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.