Elton to talk water rates, chief’s salary

Public hearing set for February 11

ELTON - The town here will hold public hearings to discuss a possible water rate increase as well as an adjustment to the police chief’s salary.

The town is renewing its contract with East Allen Waterworks, the company that provides water to the municipality. In turn, Elton provides water services for its residents. According to the proposed contract, the rate is increasing by 50 cents per 1,000 gallons of water. The rate for 2018 was set for $2.50 per 1,000 gallons of water. The new rate, if approved, will be $3 per 1,000 gallons for 2019.

Mayor Roger D. “Tony” Laughlin said due to the increase in cost, the town will likely have to raise rates slightly for customers in order to break even.

“We are going to have to go up because (East Allen Waterworks) are going up,” he said. “We don’t want to end up losing money.”

Town clerk Theresa Fontenot said the current water rates for customers in the town of Elton are $15 for the first 2,000 gallons of water then $3 per 1,000 gallons for anything above 2,000 gallons.

Fontenot said the last time the water rates were increased was January 2017.

A public hearing was set for 5:45 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11 to hear any comments and discuss the possible rate increase.

In addition to setting new water rates, another public hearing will be held Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. to hear any comments on a possible salary increase for the town’s chief of police.

Chief Bruce Lemelle asked the council for a $300 raise from $1,900 a month to $2,200 per month. Lemelle said his salary has not been adjusted since 2011 and that healthy finances in his department can support the increase.

In other Elton news, council members also selected Councilwoman Avella Ackless to serve as mayor pro-temp, as well as approved a two-percent pay raise for all town employees.

“We talked with the CPA and sales taxes are up, so this should not be a problem,” Laughlin said. “The town is in excellent financial health and I am proud to be able to offer the raise for our dedicated town employees.”

While the pay raise excludes all elected officials, Laughlin said he is also working to get raises for those positions. He said it has been around 20 years since council members and the mayor have seen pay increases.