At 10:15 p.m. last Monday evening, after two council members had already left, the remaining members of the Adairville City County decided to rescind the water and sewer rate ordinance that had been passed earlier that evening and take another look at the sewer rates.

Council member Tracy Gunderson expressed concern over the fact that the sewer rate for larger meters had remained too low. He said that while they had spent a lot of time discussing and deciding on the water rates, they had neglected the sewer rates.

Council members Judy Tanner and Danny Finch had to leave at 10 p.m. and were gone when Gunderson asked if the remaining four council members could go ahead and change the sewer rates.

City Clerk Becky Tinch said that although they could legally make changes, she would advise against doing so without the others. Tanner and Finch had voted against the initial water and sewer rate ordinance earlier in the meeting.

The council had previously spent several hours discussing water rates and decided on a rate schedule based on meter sizes with a minimum bill for each size. The sewer rates, however, were not based on meter size and the minimum bill was the same for all meter sizes.

Gunderson said he wanted to make the minimum sewer bill the same as the minimum water bill for all meters one inch or larger, the meter sizes considered commercial. Almost all residential meters are smaller than one inch.

Previously, the council had approved a minimum sewer bill of $9.65 for the first 2,000 gallons. The price for additional usage went down to a low of $2.15 per 1,000 gallons for all usage over 10,000.

Gunderson's recommendation changed the minimum bill for a one-inch meter to $50, for a one-and-a-half inch meter to $75 and a two-inch meter to $100 for sewer service. All usage over 2,000 would be $5.50 per 1,000 regardless of meter size.

The council approved the amendment to the water and sewer rates ordinance on first reading that evening. The vote was unanimous among the remaining four council members.

A special called meeting was held Thursday evening and the council approved the ordinance on second reading with a four to one vote. Council member Judy Tanner was absent and councilman Danny Finch voted against it.

Finch later said that while he wanted to increase the sewer rates, he did not think the new rate schedule with higher minimum bills was what was needed.

“I think they should have gone up based on usage,” Finch said.

No changes were made to the water rates or the sewer rates for 5/8 to 3/4 inch meters.

Some establishments that have the larger meters include the two apartment complexes, the car wash, Adairville School, Adairville Baptist Church, and the Hosiery Mill.