By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. John the Baptist Parish residents may have noticed an increase in their water bill this month, and it’s an increase they will have to get used to due to Parish Council-passed ordinances.

The approximately 16,000 January St. John Parish Utilities bills mailed out to parish customers mention a “CPI rate adjustment” effective Jan. 1 “as per parish ordinances 08-80, 08-81 and MM1-03.”

Vedant Vasanji, who said his company owns the Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, Best Western, LaPlace Motel, River Oaks Apartments and dozens of single family homes, said the spikes to the water bill are going to hit his businesses tremendously.

“We are already paying high amounts of water, and now this announcement is a huge blow to us,” Vasanji said. “We are also building three new hotels in LaP lace — a TownePlace Suites Marriott will be the first one behind the Best Western on (Highway) 51. We feel we should get a discount on the water, as we have a volume of properties here in St. John, instead of a raise.”

According to St. John Parish’s Code of Ordinances, 2009’s Ordinance 08-81 and 08-80 states “the Parish Council shall establish water rates” and “commencing with fiscal year 2009, and in each additional year thereafter, the water rates shall be adjusted downward or upward in accordance with the change in the U.S. city average 12-month percentage change in … the consumer price index.”

According to Ordinance MM1-03 of the same code, last updated in February 2001 and establishing sewer rates, sewer usage charges beginning January 2006 “will automatically adjust each year thereafter based on the percentage change in the consumer price index.”

“The consumer price index increase is an adjustment to reflect the cost of living, system, supplies and material increases,” Parish Public Information Officer Baileigh Rebowe said.

Utilities workers are telling inquisitive residents, unfortunately, bills rise each year because of the ordinances, and Rebowe said the ordinances amount to “a 4.3 percent increase based on consumption.”

The ordinances state the use of revenues generated from the annual sewer adjustments are dedicated to wastewater-related capital outlays and debt service or grant matching funds. Rebowe said the money is “used toward daily operations and maintenance of running the water system.”

As long as the ordinances are in place, Rebowe said, customers will notice an increase on each month’s bill when compared to last year’s fees.