By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer

KEYSER — Water rates in Keyser and other communities that receive city water could increase as much as 30 percent to help pay for a planned $11.5 million water-system improvement project, officials reported at Wednesday’s meeting of the Keyser Water Board.
The city also has to complete year-end audits for the past two fiscal years in order to receive funding for the project.
The first phase of the project, at an estimated cost of $4.2 million, will replace and relocate the water tower at Potomac State College, extend lines to the Hollywood Addition and replace the main water line along Limestone Road. The second phase, at $7.4 million, will replace the 85-year-old water treatment plant on Water Street.
A dozen people involved in financing the project participated in a conference call earlier this week, during which federal officials confirmed that the city will have to boost water charges in order to shift some of the funding burden to water system users themselves.
“They’re definitely going to have to be raised,” City Administrator Debroah Pamepinto said of the city’s water rate.
Keyser has not raised its water rate in many years, leaving it among the lowest in the state. Accountants retained by the city have been working with the funding agencies to determine an appropriate increase, with Wednesday's announcement of a 30 percent hike the first public acknowledgement of an actual figure.
While any rate-hike will have to be approved by the West Virginia Public Service Commission, the city will first run the proposed increase by the New Creek Water Association, which distributes Keyser water to about 1,300 business and residential customers.
Keyser officials met with New Creek representatives early last month to discuss the improvement project and broach the rate issue. Although New Creek recognized the reality of the looming increase, officials said at that time that they would withhold judgment until they saw the actual figures.
“That’s when we’ll say whether we think it’s fair,” Bob Amtower, a member of the New Creek board, said at the September meeting.
Even though New Creek as a bulk purchaser pays a lower rate than even city users, a rate hike of nearly one-third may well prove to be contentious.
With the proposed increase now established, Keyser officials said Wednesday they will meet again with New Creek, possibly at next month's meeting of the Water Board.
In addition to the rate hike, federal agencies reported that the city will not see a penny of funding for the project until audits are completed for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. The city earlier this year released completed audits for the 2005-07, and must now push to have the two latest years completed.
“We have to get the audits before we can even think about getting the grant money,” Pamepinto said.