WATER RATES
The Long Branch, N. J., commissioners have decided to call in City Engineer Morris R. Sherrerd, of Newark, to decide whether or not the present water rates arc just.
The City of Kendallville, Ind., has asked the Public Service Commission for permission to increase water rates from the minimum of 25 cents a quarter to 75 cents. It is stated that the city plant is operated at a loss.
The New Jersey Public Utility Commission has dismissed a complaint made against the Acquackononk Water Company by Sigmond Unger, a Socialist resident of Passaic, that unjust rates are charged by that company. The board ruled that a reduction could be ordered only on evidence supporting a finding that existing rates are unjust and unreasonable.
The water commissioners of Westfield, Mass., are thinking of reducing the water rates. The rates now are $5, $6 and $8, based on the assessed value of the houses, but the new rate proposed is for a flat rate of $5. It has also been suggested that a readjusjment should be made in the rate for metered water. Now there is a flat rate of five cents per 100 cubic feet which is regarded as all right for the larger consumers, but very low for those who use only a small amount of water.
