CAIRO — City Manager Chris Addleton said it may be time to raise water and sewer rates to match other nearby municipalities.

Under Addleton’s proposal, the base rate of $14 for residential and commercial water rates would remain the same, but the rate per 1,000 gallons would increase by 20 cents.

“It’s not a great big increase, but it’s a needed increase,” Addleton said.

Water rates per 1,000 gallons would be $1.60 for residents, $1.85 for businesses and $1.75 for industrial use under the proposal.

Addleton said the proposed increase is partly meant to keep the city in line with other nearby municipalities, noting that Cairo’s current rates are the same or lower than those in Bainbridge, Camilla, Moultrie and Thomasville.

“We’ve got really cheap water,” he said. “The perception for years and years and years was that water is plentiful, but it costs money to treat water.”

While noting that the city’s sewer rates have been relatively high from some time, Addleton said the other municipalities have now leapfrogged them in terms of what they charge for water, and their combined total rates are higher than what Cairo currently charges.

The proposed increase does not affect sewer rates, and water rates alone would remain the cheapest among the listed cities.

“If I put a thousand gallons out in front of city hall and told people to guess how much that cost you — less than $2 — they would say ‘no way,” Addleton said.

Instead, Addleton said the proposal is meant to place Cairo’s combined water and sewer rates somewhere beneath the most expensive city, Thomasville, while also surpassing the cheapest, Camilla.

“I don’t think we should compare ourselves to the max, but I (also) don’t think we should compare ourselves to the minimum,” he said.

Another reason why Addleton proposed the change is because the city’s expenditures on water and sewer far outweigh their revenues.

A comparison of revenues to expenses in fiscal year 2020 showed a $666,265 loss in the water and sewer budget.

“We just can’t take water and sewer for granted anymore,” Addleton said. “It’s very expensive to treat water. We always knew that sewer is expensive, but water is becoming the same way.”

Moving forward, Addleton said water and sewer rates may need to be monitored closely each year to determine if the correct amount is being charged.

Addleton’s proposal was made during a city council budget workshop briefing Monday evening.

“I just don’t want to be left behind and I think it’s my responsibility to bring it up to you and recommend it,” he said to the council members.

Additionally, the city manager also suggested a $2.50 increase in monthly residential solid waste collection rates to $23.

“We are taking our garbage and trash to Decatur County or Thomasville, but a lot of this inert material is going into our landfill and we have to manage it,” Addleton said. “The landfill is a big drag on our costs.”

Council member Jimmy Douglas said this is because when the city landfill was closed, Taylor Waste increased their rates to cover the transportation costs of hauling garbage outside the county, but the city did not do the same at the time.

While there was a price increase in recent years, the city’s overall residential collection rates are still lower than other nearby municipalities.

Again comparing current collection rates to those of the cities of Bainbridge, Camilla, Moultrie and Thomasville, Addleton noted that Cairo’s current rate of $20.50 is lower than all of them.

A public hearing on the proposed budget will take place May 28.

Finishing touches will be applied at the beginning of June in meetings intended for final revisions and approval.

The final vote on the adoption of the budget is scheduled to take place June 18.