After more than two decades of the same utility rates, St. James Parish residents will soon see bigger monthly bills after the Parish Council unanimously voted to increase them.
However, officials also agreed to lower the proposed increase for each utility by $1.50 per month after discussion about the impact the changes will have on their constituents.
Currently, parish water system rates are $11 per month, while gas system rates stand at $8.50 per month. After the increases take full effect, the total bill for customers will reach $37 a month, $18.50 for each utility. The quarterly increases begin in January 2025 for residential users, but will take effect immediately for industrial and commercial consumers.
Coming within the first terms of four new council members and soon after the council approved solid waste collection fee increases, many members spoke about the difficult decision to raise rates. Council member Donald Nash, who introduced the amendments to lower the total increases, said the council needed to think about how it would impact residents.
“When I signed up for this position, I didn’t sign up for this position in consideration of myself. This is about the people, and we did a lot in a short period of time,” he said. “… Each one of us is going to have to be accountable for what we are doing.”
Parish officials, including President Pete Dufresne and Operations Director Rick Webre, said the rate increases are needed because the service fees are the sole funding for the gas and water systems. Webre said those fees had not been adjusted in more than 20 years.
To avoid a similar large rate hike in the future, the rates also will be tied to the consumer price index.
The original ordinances would have raised both rates quarterly, concluding with a final increase to $20 each per month in July 2025. The amendments made several changes, including lowering the final amount per month by $1.50 for each and delaying when the changes begin for residential users.
“We have to take into consideration that there’s elderly people that are on budgets,” Nash said. “We can sit here and say a $1.50 is not much, but there’s going to be individuals that are going to have to make a decision between medication and utility bills.”
Although the amendments passed unanimously, council member Neal Poche advocated for the higher rates, which Webre said would provide a cushion for the department and allow for infrastructure improvements.
“$1.50. I mean, people pay for Netflix,” Poche said. “Water is a necessity, you know, something you need. You can’t live without water.”
Nash strongly defended the $18.50 amount, saying that as an elected official, he had to consider all residents in his district.
“This is not about us. We can’t look at it and say, ‘Well, that’s $1.50 or that’s $2 being wasted over there,’” he said. “We’re not in somebody else’s bank account.”
Council member Courtney Long echoed several of Nash’s statements and said the rate would still be a major improvement: “18.50 is not everything you went for, but at least this council is trying … to get us solvent.”