The city of Lewisburg will be raising its water rates by the same eight cents per 1,000 gallons that the Logan Todd Regional Water Commission is charging.

The rate increase goes into effect on March 1 and was voted on by the commission at the end of November.

The Lewisburg city council voted Monday at its regular monthly meeting to simply pass that increase on to customers without adding any additional charges.

“That’s what they’ve always done in the past,” Lewisburg clerk Angela Swinney said. “One or two years, they didn’t even pass it on.”

The last water rate increase came three years ago when USDA Rural Development, which holds the largest bond for the water treatment facility, forced the LTRWC to raise its rates by by 44 cents per 1,000 gallons.

This rate increase is two percent, which raises the rate LTRWC charges its customers from $3.75 per 1,000 gallons to $3.83.

Residents of Lewisburg will see their minimum bills go from $17.45 per month to $17.61 per month. The minimum water bill is based on 2,000 gallons.

For those who get their water from Lewisburg, but live outside the city limits, they will see their minimum bill increase from $23.00 to $23.16.

The council had talked about putting in an annual rate increase, which goes into effect each year. The city of Auburn did that three years ago when the 44 cent rate increase hit.

But the Lewisburg council decided not to go that route.

“They just felt like they shouldn’t put that on future councils,” Swinney said.

Also on Monday, the Lewisburg council voted to raise the reconnect fee on water from $25 to $35.

They also will be charging a $10 fee to re-read meters a second time in a calendar year.

“We will let someone have one re-read for free in a year,” Swinney said. “But we have several meters that are way out Highland Lick Road and it costs us money to run back and forth. If the meter was read wrong the first time, though, there won’t be any charge.”