Flushing a toilet just got more expensive in most of unincorporated Lake County, following the County Board’s decision to increase sewer service fees.
The first fee increase in more than seven years is effective immediately and will cost the average residential customer about $18 more a year.
Sandy Cole (R-Grayslake), the only opponent to the increase on the 23-member County Board, said she believed hookup fees the county receives for new housing developments negated the need for the increase.
“I don’t think we should raise fees until we actually need them,” she said.
Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt (R-Lake Villa) said the increase was necessary because “the standard cost of doing business is going up.”
The new ordinance affects an estimated 21,000 residential, commercial and business customers.
It increases local sewer rates on all county systems by about 7 percent. Metered sewer fees will increase by 20 cents per 1,000 gallons, and flat-rate sewer fees will increase by $1.50 a month.
