Jefferson County, Ala., residents and businesses face a sewer rate increase for the first time in four years as county commissioners seek to raise revenues after massive sewer debt led to the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy last year.
Commissioners voted 4-0, with one not present, on Nov. 6 to raise rates starting on March 1. The rate hike would generate about $8.3 million in revenue for the debt-plagued sewer system.