By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
In 2015, Terry Esfeld with Great Bend Livestock Company addressed the Great
Bend City Council to request that the sewer bill for the business he owns,
located on Railroad Avenue, be reduced.
Esfeld uses the business to house cattle for a few months of the year at which
time they consume a great deal of water that is not disposed of down the sewer.
At that time, the governing body approved to charge $25 per month for his sewer
bill.
Due to sewer staff changes at the Front Door unaware of the agreement, the
Livestock Company’s bill was calculated for a new sewer rate this year which
increased by approximately $240.
After being notified, Great Bend staff reduced Esfeld’s sewer rate back to $25.
Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francis was asked if this arrangement was
setting a precedent.
"The precedent has already been set, a little bit, by a past council," said Francis. "The water was not going down into the sanitary sewer. He was using water, but it wasn't returning back into the sewer. They thought it was practical for him to not pay the increased sewer bill."
In 2020, the city approved new sewer rates that are supposed to increase by
3.5% each year. The city council voted to increase Livestock Company’s $25
charge by 3.5% each year, making the amount $26.79 for 2022.