New utility discounts repealed

Utility rate discounts set in December for Coulee Dam were repealed by the town council last week when members passed a set of ordinances identical to the ones the previous council had replaced in December.

The new ordinances passed Wednesday reset the discount amounts charged for water, sewer, electricity and trash collection to their previous rates, but may be amended again after the new council agrees on new rates.

Councilmember Keith St. Jeor had objected to the ordinances passed in December and contends that discounts set for low-income and elderly residents were illegal.

“That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to go back and have to refigure our rates,” St. Jeor said, “it just means that we’re repealing what happened in December.”

The discounts, in place as a practice since 2000, had been increased by the previous council.