By DAVID SEIFMAN
May 16, 2008
The Water Board is poised to raise water and sewer rates today by 14.5 percent, ignoring a last-minute plea by a majority of the City Council to postpone its meeting until more revenue data becomes available.
The rate hike kicks in July 1.
A spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection said the meeting would proceed on schedule, starting 8:30 a.m. at 101 Murray St. in lower Manhattan.
In a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, the council members said the rate hike could be limited to 5.5 percent if the administration didn't force the Water Board to make rent payments, which are based on the size of its growing debt load.
Those payments come to $68 million this year and $122 million next year. In addition, DEP shells out $55 million to other city agencies, including $30 million to subsidize street cleaning at the Department of Sanitation.
The mayor has adamantly refused to surrender any Water Board payments, saying the city needs the money to balance its own budget.
