Staff photo / Ed Runyan ... Mahohing County commissioners, from left, Carol Rimedio Righetti, Dave Ditzler and Anthony Traficanti, took action at Wednesday’s commissioners meeting to double water rates for the Jackson-Milton Water District and to keep the district under county control.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County commissioners approved new rates for the Jackson Milton Water District on Wednesday that double the price per 1,000 gallons of water starting July 1. Commissioner Dave Ditzler also said the county will continue to operate the system, despite earlier thoughts about selling it.

The rare Wednesday board meeting (they usually meet on Thursdays) drew only two residents — both from the Jackson-Milton area.

Milton Township Trustee Wendy DiBernardi attended and thanked the commissioners after they voted for the water-rate increase for “keeping the water district.”

At a public meeting at the Jackson Township Hall on May 25, the commissioners provided a handout on the proposed water rate increases and said they would vote on them in the coming weeks, but made it clear they were not taking questions on the matter and were referring questions to Pat Ginnetti, who is county sanitary engineer and county highway engineer. Ginnetti was not at the meeting.

Ginnetti is appointed by the commissioners to serve as sanitary engineer to lead the department that runs the county’s sewer and water districts.

Ginnetti answered some of the questions that arose at the May 25 meeting in an email provided Wednesday by Audrey Tillis, county administrator.

When residents asked how long it would take to pay off the water district’s debt, Ginnetti said the debt would be “paid off over time” but said the debt within the water district has “nothing to do” with the district’s water rates being too low.

“The debt was incurred from installing waterlines along the east side of the lake, the Craig Beach elevated Tank, Jackson Milton meter rehabilitations, the Mahoning Avenue / Bailey Road / state Route 45 waterline extension, to name a few,” Ginnetti’s email stated.

Ginnetti said the “necessary increase in the rates is to ensure the department has the funds available to make the existing debt payments while continuing to operate the system. The debt will not be paid off at once.”

Ditzler said May 25 that the commissioners would consider the rate increase at a meeting in a couple of weeks but “everything else (about the water district) will remain status quo.”

He was asked Wednesday to clarify whether that meant the county would keep the water district or sell it, and Ditzler acknowledged that he is choosing his words carefully, but agreed it means keeping it.

“Status quo means it is in the hands of the county, and it will remain as status quo,” he said.

Commissioner Anthony Traficanti noted that he always has felt the county should keep the water district.

“Thank you for listening to the residents of Milton and Jackson and keeping the water district maintained by you guys. We appreciate it. I wanted to come and thank you for that, and we’re happy,” said Milton Township Trustee Wendy DiBernardi, one of the two residents who attended.

Ditzler on Wednesday reiterated concerns he had last year about operating the Jackson Milton Water District — that it is the only water district the county has with only 1,350 customers, but he and his colleagues voted for the rate increase. The commissioners received proposals last year from the city of Youngstown and Aqua Ohio about acquiring the water district from the county.

But at a public hearing last year, all of the residents who spoke said they wanted the county to operate it.

The district has customers along Mahoning Avenue in Jackson Township, as well as a short distance north and south of Mahoning Avenue on state Route 45 in North Jackson. It also serves an industrial area at Mahoning Avenue and Bailey Road in Jackson Township.

The water line extends from there west into Milton Township, where it travels around most of Lake Milton, serving those residents and businesses, and serves the village of Craig Beach.

The new rates rise from $5.25 per thousand gallons to $10.50 per thousand gallons starting July 1, 2023; to $11.34 on Jan. 1, 2024; to $12.25 on Jan. 1, 2025, to $13.23 on Jan. 1, 2026 and to $14.29 Jan. 1, 2027.

The new rate structure, provided to the county by the engineering firm Arcadis of Columbus, also increases the fixed monthly rate per customer to $14.50 per month, replacing the $4.50 monthly “service fee” the water district charges, Ginnetti said.

The fixed rate ensures that all property owners in the water district are paying their fair share of the cost, including people who live there for only a few months per year, Ditzler said Wednesday. The fixed rate comes into play for people who do not use any water certain months, Ditzler said.

The rate is currently $4.50, but it rises to $15.66 per month on Jan 1, 2024; rises to $16.91 on Jan. 1, 2025; rises to $18.27 on Jan. 1, 2026; and to $19.73 on Jan. 1, 2027.