City residents would see higher water bills and changes to trash-collection fees if proposals under consideration by Santa Fe city councilors are adopted this fall.

Now moving through committees is a plan to hike water rates annually for the next seven years to help pay for expanding the community water system. However, some elected officials are wary of signing on to the idea.

A second proposal would reduce commercial recycling fees, charge more for large-item trash pickup and implement a volume-based rate for residential pickup, among other changes.

Monday night, councilors on the Public Works Committee gave a nod of approval to both recommendations.

Water rates would rise by about 7 percent each year for the next seven years beginning in January. That would result in an increase of nearly 50 percent by the year 2016.

A typical residential bill of $31.51 a month would cost the same homeowner $54.11 after the final projected increase under the proposal, sponsored by Councilors Rebecca Wurzburger and Rosemary Romero.

"I think this is about being fiscally responsible," Romero said Monday. "When you look at the cost of offering these services, the reality is that it is going up every year. I am pleased that this is the direction we are going in."

An early draft of the bill included other sponsors, but at least two councilors listed on that version say they aren't ready to back the plan. Councilor Ronald Trujillo said he remains skeptical about the size of the increase.

"I want to ask more questions of the water division," he said early Monday. "I don't want to put a strike into the pocketbooks of the people of Santa Fe. ... I am just leery of how much of an effect this will have."

Later, at the hearing, Trujillo said he hoped city residents would weigh in on the issues.

The proposed water-rate increases are scheduled for additional public hearings and committee discussions before the full City Council contemplates taking action. Future discussions are planned at a Sept. 4 city Finance Committee meeting and a Public Utilities Committee meeting Sept. 17. A public hearing before the City Council also would be required. Several public meetings have already been held but have not been well attended.

Councilor Chris Calvert, who also removed his name from the top of the bill, said he wanted to see a rate structure that would further penalize high-volume water users in the form of bigger bills as a way to encourage more conservation.

The city water division says it needs to raise rates to cover operating costs and repay debt, including money borrowed to pay for a major construction project to divert water directly from the Rio Grande. The Buckman Direct Diversion is scheduled to be online by the spring of 2011, according to Gary Martinez, director of the city's Sangre de Cristo Water Division.

"Rate increases like this allow you to plan ahead," Fernando Aranda of Red Oak Consulting, who is under contract to make recommendations about the water system, told councilors Monday night. "The public knows exactly how much it is going to be the next year."

Councilor Patti Bushee, who chairs the committee, questioned the plan, noting when the city bought the water utility in 1995 from Public Service Company of New Mexico, a selling point was that the city could set its own rates.

"Since that time, it has been an upward spiral," Bushee said, adding later, "I hope that as policymakers we get to look at how we are going to plan a little bit more closely for our future growth and consider those costs being passed on more fairly rather than to the ratepayer."

Councilor Miguel Chavez said he prefers to look at the increase as a way to increase the reliability of the domestic water supply.

The proposed changes to the trash and recycling rates also are getting mixed reviews from councilors. The Solid Waste Division recommends commercial recycling rates drop by 50 percent, making it cheaper to recycle than to dispose of refuse and increasing participation among area businesses.

The division also aims to charge higher fees for large-item pickups, impose extra charges on residents who throw away more trash than fits into a single roll-away cart each week and charge a rental fee for Dumpster-style containers in an effort to keep them circulating instead of sitting at homes or construction projects for long periods.

Bill DeGrande, director of the Solid Waste Department, said the "pay as you throw" program is the most controversial, but is a fee structure that is becoming more popular around the nation. It's a good plan, he said, because it encourages recycling. "It has a great reduction in what goes to the landfill, which is the direction that we want to go as a city," DeGrande said.

Trujillo is sponsoring the proposal along with Calvert, Bushee and Romero — who added their names Monday. Trujillo said he agreed to back the plan because he has heard complaints about the equity of the current structure, including from neighbors of those who perpetually store the large Dumpsters instead of paying for weekly service.

Councilor Matthew Ortiz, who does not sit on the Public Works Committee but chairs the Finance Committee, said he has concerns about the way the fee increases would affect those with large families. He also wants to see more public feedback, he said.

"I don't think this has been fully vetted," Ortiz said, noting the "pay as you throw" idea is a major policy shift, not just a tweak to an existing ordinance. In the past, he said, the council had determined not to make such a change. "We didn't get details about why we need to do this at this time," he said.

Proposed changes to the solid-waste fees are also scheduled for more debate, including a public hearing at the Public Utilities Committee on Sept. 17. Another hearing must be held before the full City Council before adoption.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at (505) 986-3017 at jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.