Council Raises Water, Sewer Connection Fees

LINCOLN — The City Council voted at its December meeting to increase fees for water taps and sewer connections, effective immediately.

Water connection fees will go from $500 to $900 for a 3/4-inch tap and from $500 to $1,200 for a 1-inch tap inside the city limits. Those applying for taps outside the city limits will pay $1,080 for a 3/4-inch tap and $1,380 for a 1-inch tap. The previous fee was $750 for each.

A 2-inch water tap will be $900 plus the cost of parts and the fee for a 3/4-inch tap for irrigation will be $900.

Revised sewer connection fees for consumers who connect or reconnect to the sewer system will increase from $250 to $500.

Fees for water and sewer connections have been the same for at least 17 years, according to Rhonda Hulse, business manager and grants coordinator.

Council members welcomed new City Attorney Steve Zega to the meeting. As part of the agenda, the Council passed a resolution authorizing a contract for legal services with Zega and Cypert, Crouch, Clark & Harwell law firm.

Zega will receive $175 per hour. The legal fees for other attorneys that perform services for Lincoln may vary depending on the attorney involved and the nature of the work. All services performed by paralegals or legal assistants will be $35 per hour and services performed by law clerks will be

$25 per hour.

The city also agrees to pay the law firm for costs of extraordinary photocopying, fax charges, extraordinary telephone toll charges, messenger and delivery services, computer legal research charges, travel expenses, as well as other costs that may include court and filing fees, investigative expenses and costs of depositions.

Zega addressed the mayor and Council, thanking members for their confidence in him as city attorney.

“Please feel free if you need me to call me,” Zega said. “I like to turn things around in an hour or more.”

Hulse responded to him, “We appreciate you coming to work with us and we appreciate everything you’re going to bring to the table.”

In other action, the Council approved a resolution to pay its share of salaries for four district judges in this region. The state pays one-half the costs of the salaries and counties and cities pay the other half. Lincoln’s cost-share is $2,515.38 per month. The base salary for each judge is $117,300.