Altrip in fee shock: Working group examines wastewater standardization!

Altrip in fee shock: Working group examines wastewater standardization!

In the last few weeks, the topic of wastewater fees has once again caused heated discussions in the Rheinauen municipality. The FWG Altrip in particular would like to overturn a decision that was already made in March 2022. At that time, the members of the municipal council decided against the standardization of wastewater fees with a narrow result of 19 to 18 votes. This decision continues to cause discontent today and is now new on the agenda, as Rheinpfalz reports.

Uwe-Peter Schreiner, the FWG parliamentary group spokesman, presented a new proposal to standardize fees on June 17th. He justifies this with the fact that the 2022 vote was contrary to expectations. These controversies also brought Lothar Ritthaler from the CDU into the spotlight, who objected to the allegations made by local politicians in Altrip. Ritthaler explained that there were no agreements in the run-up to the vote and that the claims about promises cannot be verified.

The wastewater fees in comparison

An investigation into wastewater fees has shown that the citizens of Altrip pay the highest fees within the municipality, followed by the people of Neuhofen. The Waldseer and Otterstadt residents are asked to pay less and can look forward to lower fees. In order to address this inequality, a working group will now be formed that will examine suitable measures for the possible standardization of wastewater fees. The legal basis, which comes from the Municipal Taxes Act, will play an important role here, as Wikipedia explains.

Wastewater fees represent municipal taxes that are levied for the use of public wastewater disposal facilities. The fees are based on a fee statute and are only payable if the corresponding services are used. The calculation bases may correspond to the principle of equality and the equivalence principle. Various types of wastewater fees, such as discharge fees or basic fees, are, among other things, a prerequisite for the sustainable financing of the wastewater industry.

The current situation for Altrip and the neighboring communities

The disadvantage of the old trippers now needs to be checked. An important point will be how fees are actually calculated. The so-called fresh water scale, which records actual usage, is often used for this purpose. Particular attention should also be paid to the declared minimum fees, which ensure that the costs incurred can be covered, a requirement that is extremely important, as can also be found on vg-rheinauen.

In the midst of these discussions about the sensible handling of wastewater fees, the hope remains that the working group that has been formed will soon find viable solutions for a fairer fee structure. Ultimately, wastewater disposal should remain affordable and fair for all citizens of the municipality.