LEXINGTON, S.C. — In a Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission Meeting, leaders from across Lexington County came together to vote on increasing a fee for developers that has not been touched in 16 years.
"The old fee, or existing fee for Residential Equivalency Unit is about $2,250 that's what it costs for a new development, residential lot to come on our system, that's just for water. The new fee will be $3,000," said Jay Nicholson the General Manager for the JMWSC.
The adjustment comes as development becomes an ongoing topic of conversation for Lexington residents.
"Growth has been significant for us we average about 3.5% growth each year," Nicholson explained.
Whenever any new building pops up, there has to be water, electricity, and a road to get there among other items that counties and cities are responsible for. Now the municipal commission wants to make sure that developers help fund these things.
"They [developers] do a capital contribution because they are adding infrastructure and we love our developers in the area we just recognize that our deliverable to the site, is becoming more and more expensive and we need to address that but not on the backs of our existing ratepayers," Nicholson stated.
The new fees do not apply to current developers, but only to new developers that come in once the fee is officially implemented. For developers seeking to build, there are resources available on the JMWSC website to help.
The next meeting of the Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission will be on November 15.