The Rend Lake Conservancy District Board passed a 2.5% rate increase Monday morning. The RLCD is a regional wholesale water provider to many communities in southern Illinois including Mt. Vernon.

Mt. Vernon held a special city council meeting Monday night to have a 1st reading of the tax rate hike post RLCD’s approval meeting.

RLCD says the increase is for infrastructure improvements to the water distribution operation and reinvestment to revitalize and improve the entire water system.

Mt. Vernon Mayor, John Lewis says the rate increase is not justified. He says the RLCD is “sitting on $10.6 million” and already has the funds to make those improvements without a tax hike.

RLCD chirped back in a report from the board saying Mt. Vernon, as a provider of water to surrounding areas and villages, has a mark up on its costs and the city should be able to absorb the rate increase. Mayor Lewis did not deny the mark up, but said it is justified for improvements from a crumbling infrastructure due to a previous administration and a demand from citizens to not sell water rights to a private company.

Mayor Lewis also sounded off by saying no matter what, the buck is going to be passed on and citizens will be taking the hit. The Mt. Vernon City Council is set to meet and approve the same 2.5% increase at their March 5th meeting.

The tax increase is likely to affect the villages Mt. Vernon supplies a water source to, (Woodlawn, Bluford, Dix/Kell Water Commission, Belle Rive, Waltonville, and North East Water Co.) and from there, the villages will have to make a decision on how they want to handle the increase.

A water tax increase occurs every 5 years.