By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — For the second month in a row, Metro Utility Board member Glenn Thomas broached the subject of a sewer rate decrease for Moore County rate payers in the urban services district during the monthly MUD Board meeting.
The rates were also reduced in July 2025 by $2 across the board for all residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The move came after months of behind-the-scenes work re-categorizing many residential customers as commercial customers. In total 52 local customers were moved to the correct billing category resulting in an $80,000 increase in commercial revenue and an $87,000 increase in industrial revenue.
{Editor’s Note: To read our coverage of the original sewer rate reduction, click here.}
The reduction moved residential rates from $22.89 per 1000 gallons to $20.89 per 1000 gallons, commercial from $28.18 per 1000 gallons to $26.18 per 1000 gallons, and industrial rates from $33.47 per 1000 gallons to $31.47 per 1000 gallons. The rate change went into effect on July 1, 2025.
Thomas’s motion to reduce them again led to a lengthy discussion. MUD Board Chair Barry Posluszny disagreed with the rate decrease — citing a 2024 rate study by an independent auditor that advised the utility to raise rates by two percent each year through 2027 to remain financially stable.
In Tennessee, it is against state law for a utility to have negative revenues for two consecutive years and Chair Posluszny stated that he did not want to reduce rates now, only to be required to raise them later. He also pointed to two costly waterline extension projects already in the pipeline.
Thomas took issue with the study, claiming without offering evidence that it was inaccurate. Posluszny countered that the Board could revisit the rate decrease in July 2026, once Metro is under a new fiscal year budget — stating it could be made retroactive to January 2026 if the numbers supported it.
Fellow member Greg Guinn stated that the 2025-26 numbers seemed to be on schedule. Thomas also argued that lowering the rate by $2 would still allow revenue to meet anticipated numbers.
In the end, Thomas made the motion, but Posluszny blocked it and did not bring it to a vote. They will likely discuss the issue again at the February meeting.
The MUD Board meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Metro Utilities office located at 705 Fayetteville Highway in Lynchburg. All meetings are open to the public and there is a pubic input period at each meeting. •
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