Morgan City increases utility fees, implements short-term rentals business license

Morgan City has increased customer service charges on some utilities. The city did a power rate study in 2022 and initiated a new base rate. It is now increasing by about 50 percent, City Manager Ty Bailey told the city council at their July 9 meeting. The residential customer service charge for electricity, both city and county and commercial non-demand increased to $7.50 from $5. 

“We're working our way up to $10 instead of hitting $10 at the same time as the rate,” Bailey said. “[This] is an incremental change, but because we did both that and the power rate last year, this is a lot more tolerable, but it still heads in the right direction.”

Small commercial, both city and county, went to $15 from $10 and large commercial, both city and county, to $75 from $50. The city has also increased the cost of yard lights from $1 to $2 per light.

“I know you've gotten a lot of pushback on our power rates, but the reality is we just didn't have any fund balance to absorb the losses, and that tide's turning now,” Bailey told the city council. “Even Rocky Mountain Power is proposing a 30 percent increase to the Public Service Commission. In evaluating the last year we're good with the rate so we're only proposing to adopt that change in the base charge based on our rate study.” 

The pump rate has increased to $7.50 from $5 and the net metering residential and small commercial customer service charge, both city and county, to $9 from $8.

The city has also increased its base water fees by 10 percent in line with the recommendations of the city’s water rate study. For a residential ¾ inch connection with 8,000 gallons that would be a new base fee of $38.19 (county $52.05; Mahogany Ridge $48.36). 

That study had planned for a new city water tank in 2029, but that’s not going to happen, Bailey said. “There’s no possible way we're going to get there so we are building a little bit of a fund balance.”

The water fee increases are necessary to build up some reserve funds, something the city hadn’t been doing for some time, Power Foreman Clark Crook told the city council. “The recommendations are that you have adequate reserves. They recommend at least six months because if you went into a multi-month power increase like we had in one month [last year] you'd be a little more sheltered.”

Morgan also is now requiring a business license for those who operate short-term rentals (for under 30 days) in the city. The new fee is $50. If needed, building inspection and fire inspection fees will be $50 each. These facilities will not qualify for a primary residence tax exemption.

“This ordinance does two things; one, it requires a business license … the other thing it does is for those that are trying to do short-term rentals it gives them a legitimate path forward so if they do have a complaint or a bad-stay experience they have a business license to say  ‘I went to the city and I checked all the boxes and I'm running a legitimate operation here because I complied with all of the requirements,’” Bailey said.λ