WARREN — Trumbull County commissioners are expected to vote today on a possible water rate increase of $12 per 1,000 gallons for customers receiving county water beginning April 1.

Trumbull County sanitary sewer officials were able to reduce the previously requested rate increase of $12.50 by 50 cents per customer primarily by pushing back projected improvements from 10 years and getting them done in 20 years instead.

Commission President Rick Hernandez said if the county does not address its declining water revenues soon, the state will be forced to come in and place the department in fiscal emergency.

Bob Maiorano, comptroller at the county’s sanitary department, said the department has about $311,000 in reserve funds to pay its bulk water costs over the next three months.

It spends about $100,000 a month from its reserves to pay for water.

“That does not take into account about $200,000 we have not paid that will be due next month,” Maiorano said. “So we really only have about $110,000 in reserves or about one month.”

The state can come in at any time to address the county’s inability to pay for its bulk water once it cannot pay its providers.

Hernandez suggested the county may be able to provide a reduced rate increase for low-income and senior citizen water customers who are covered under the homestead exemption to lessen the impact on them.

Maiorano said the $12 per 1,000 gallons increase is just enough for the county to have a balanced water budget at the end of 2025.

“None of the commissioners are happy about raising the water rates at all, but, I remind commissioners, the county is mandated by law that as water rates are costing the sanitary district they need to be compensated,” Hernandez said. “Unfortunately, 10 years have gone by and they have not been compensated.”

“We can absolutely provide a homestead discount,” Maiorano said. “But, in doing that, it will reduce the amount that we can collect.”

Maiorano said Trumbull County needs to collect about $9.5 million a year from customers to pay for its services.The department last year collected $7.4 million.

The projected $12 per month per 1,000 gallons rate will be in effect through the end of the year. The projected increase rises to $12.25 in 2026 and increases to $12.50 in 2027 to allow the county to cover projected costs.

“We have to be fiscally responsible,” Commissioner Denny Malloy said. “That’s our job is to make the county fiscally sound, but this should have been done 10 to 15 years ago. It should have been done by previous boards.”

The amount of the increase will depend on the communities where customers live. Howland customers now pay $6.86 per 1,000 gallons. The projected 2025 increase would cost them $5.14 per 1,000 gallons more. However, Bazetta / Champion residents receiving Trumbull water will experience only a $2.47 per 1,000 gallon increase, because they now pay $9.53 per 1,000 gallons.

Malloy said they need to find a way to reduce the sting of the increase to county water customers.

“Is there anywhere where we can meet (in the middle),” he said. “It doesn’t sit well with me to jump to where they need to be.”

The county has 11,000 water customers. Malloy noted even if the commissioners increase the county water rate to $12 per 1,000 gallons, its rate still will be lower than what Girard and Liberty customers pay, which is approximately $20 per 1,000 gallons.

“Liberty residents would love to have our increased rates,” Malloy said.

Commissioner Tony Bernard questioned why the county saw a significant increase in water debt in 2024.

The county’s water department earned nearly $7 million in revenue in 2024, but it had $8.5 million in expenses, leaving it $1.5 million in the red.

“What caused it to go $1.5 million into a hole,” Bernard said.

Officials noted the county has been experiencing losses every year since 2019. Maiorano said he expects the bulk rate to go up another $400,000 this year.

Bernard, once again, questioned why the water department is pushing for an increase now when there are two new commissioners, Hernandez and himself, instead of asking for the rate increase during a previous administration.

Gary Newbrough, head of the county sanitary / sewer department, said the idea of a rate increase was brought up to previous boards.

A rate study was requested in 2020 to determine the need for a rate increase. The results of that study were released to the board in December 2022. At the time, MS Consultants, which did the study, recommended a rate increase from $10.50 to $11.10 per 1,000 gallons through 2026.

The county in 2023 combined several water districts, so their rates could be consolidated into one.

Newbrough said the consolidation did not produce overall savings, but it created an avenue to allow the county to charge all of its customers the same monthly amount.

Bernard said before an increase is imposed, the sanitary sewer department should do whatever it can to reduce its costs.

“We’ve self-imposed a hiring freeze,” Maiorano said. “We have not replaced anyone.”

Bernard is pushing for more cuts.

“We are asking for people to pay more, so I’m asking you to cut more,” he said. “You told me two months ago that you could not cut the $12.50 increase proposal, but you’ve now said you can reduce it to $12.”

Malloy suggested they write within whatever resolution is completed that anytime the county’s water suppliers increase their bulk water rate, that increase should be passed onto the county’s customers

“We don’t want to have to go through this again,” Malloy said. “We are cheaper than anyone in the county. We are cheaper than Liberty. We are cheaper than Youngstown. We have been giving a good deal. The problem is we’ve been giving a way too good of a deal. We would not be in the situation we’re in, if we had not provided the rates we have.”

Newbrough said the county’s water suppliers cannot increase their rates to the county, without increasing the inside rates they charge to their customers.

“What hurt us is we did not take corrective actions when they increased their rates for eight years,” Bernard said. “We have to make sure that everything has been done properly.”

“I think there are more things that can be cut,” he continued.