By NICK WERNER
nwerner@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — City council took the first step Tuesday toward imposing a hydrant fee that would add $2.01 to the average household water bill.
The council voted 7-2 to introduce an ordinance that would add a surcharge onto the monthly bills of Indiana-American Water Co. customers to pay for Muncie’s fire hydrants.
A final vote is expected Dec. 16 after a 5:30 p.m. public hearing at city hall.
Muncie rents its hydrants from the water company at a cost of about $630,000 a year, which has traditionally been paid through the city’s general fund by property taxpayers.
State statute, however, also allows cities to pay for hydrants by adding a fire protection surcharge, or hydrant fee, to the bills of water utility customers.
In an effort to balance the 2010 budget, city council eliminated all funding from the fire hydrant line item, leaving the city little other option except to impose the hydrant fee.
According to figures provided by Indiana-American Water, the average household would pay $2.01.
The fee is based on the size of a customer’s water meter.
Advocates of the hydrant fee argue that it forces non-profit organizations, which don’t pay property taxes, to contribute financially toward fire protection.
A handful of people spoke at Tuesday’s meeting.
One person said he was against it while two members of the Citizens of Delaware County for Property Tax Repeal said they support it so long as the council didn’t impose a local option income tax in the future.
The council’s two Republicans, Brad Polk and Mark Conatser, voted against the introduction, saying they weren’t necessarily opposed to the idea, but had too many unanswered questions.
Conatser questioned whether it was fair that Muncie residents on well water receive fire protection without paying the hydrant fee.
“I don’t know that there’s any solution that’s perfect,” council President Alison Quirk said.
If passed, it is unclear when the hydrant fee would take effect because that date is contingent upon approval of the new rate by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.