PETERSBURG-AK Petersburg customers will see higher water bills this month. The city council finalized the water-rate increase Monday. Charges will go up 25 percent this month and another 15 percent in July. The final rate-hike is smaller than the original measure recommended by the city’s staff and advisory board. That ordinance would have resulted in a 62 percent hike in service fees and a 41 percent hike in the commodity charge over the next three years. In order to compensate for the smaller increase, the amended ordinance also includes a controversial provision forgiving the utility’s debt to the city’s general fund. The idea prompted some public opposition and resulted in a split council vote.
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