BANDON - Flushing the toilets, doing laundry, watering the lawn, washing the car, doing dishes and taking showers will soon cost 10 percent more for residents here.

Those activities create wastewater that the city's sewer plant must treat. A rate increase is part of an ongoing plan by the city of Bandon to increase its sewer fund reserves to undertake needed repairs at the sewer plant.

The Bandon City Council approved the increase by a 4-1 vote at its regular meeting Monday night. Councilors Geri Procetto, Colleen Cardas, Zita Ingham and Lou Franyi voted for the motion; Councilor David Kimes voted against. Councilor Blythe Tiffany was absent.

Rates will rise from $14.64 per month inside the city to $16.10 per month. Extra usage after the first 2,000 gallons used will be billed at $2.67 per 1,000 gallons. Summer residential rates for extra usage will be $1.74 per 1,000 gallons after the first 2,000 used. Multiple base rates and special rates for commercial customers also will increase.

This is the second year sewer rates have increased. Last July, the city implemented its first 10-percent rate increase. City Manager Matt Winkel said the increases may be needed for at least one more year before the city has enough reserves to begin repairs to the city's inflow and infiltration system.

Testing done last year revealed that the city's drainage system is full of leaks, allowing rain and flood waters to infiltrate the inflow system. The extra water that enters the sewer plant upsets the system and also overflows during seasonal storms, Winkel explained.

Repair costs are estimated at $908,625. Although prohibited by city charter from raising other rates, the city can increase sewer rates as needed to comply with state revolving loan fund agreements between the city and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Customers are charged a basic sewer fee, plus a charge based on the amount of water used. Prior to the 10-percent rate increase in July 2002, sewer rates last increased in 1996.

Kimes said he voted no not because of the increase but the amount.

"If we can get (to an adequate reserve amount) with 9percent instead of 10 percent, that's fine," Kimes said. "My opposition is not with the increase but that we should be doing a better job of figuring out what we need to get where we need to go."

Winkel told the council that revenues rose last year above expenditures for the first time since fiscal year 1998-1999 and that the reserve fund rose from $50,000 in 2001 to $200,000 after last year's increase.

The rate increase last year stabilized revenues and expenditures, Winkel said, but the city needs to raise the more than $908,000 for the repair projects.

"This 10-percent increase is part of an ongoing effort," Winkel said. "This is a slow increase. If we had to play catch-up with rates, the increase would be a lot more."

Winkel said it is more fiscally responsible for the city to pay cash for projects than to pay interest on bonds and loans. And a reserve balance in the sewer fund is desirable in case of an emergency, he said.

The rate increase will be effective for all sewer billings issued after July 31.

In other business the council:

€ dedicated the Carl L. Nayaert Memorial Field at the main softball field in City Park in honor of the longtime Bandon Police Officer and softball coach who recently died from cancer;

n heard on update on electric rate projections. To offset wholesale rate increases from the Bonneville Power Administration, the city anticipated a retail rate increase of approximately 12 percent would be necessary in October. But with the latest BPA projections, the city is now projecting that no increase will be necessary until June 2004. At that time the increase is expected to be in the range of 6 percent, according to Winkel.

€ accepted a Forest Management Plan for the 252 acres of city watershed property. The plan was prepared by Integrated Resource Management Inc. at the direction and oversight of the city's Water Resource Committee and presented by Larry Roberts, chairman of the committee. The plan was funded by a $13,000 grant from the Ocean and Coastal Management Program through the Department of Land Conservation and Development. The purpose of the plan is to illustrate ways the city can protect the watershed and sustain its valuable water resources.

€ approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Port of Bandon so the agencies can jointly apply for a grant to improve the sidewalks along S.W. First Street in Old Town; and

€ agreed to withdraw an appeal the city had filed against the Coos County Planning Commission's approval of a planned unit development proposed by Ray Caswell on his property on Beach Loop Drive and Mars Avenue. City staff reached a tentative agreement with Caswell to withdraw the appeal in exchange for his agreement to construct Mars Avenue to full county standards. The development is still under appeal to the Coos County Board of Commissioner by another party, and the issue was scheduled to be heard by the board today.