Utility rates are on the rise in Girard. Beginning next month, water and sewers rates will increase. It's a cost hike passed onto consumers to pay for projects and unfunded government mandates.

Sewer rates in Girard will go up 7-percent and water rates will go up 11-percent beginning in May.

The city won't keep a penny of those increases. Instead, the money will pay for rising rates passed on by the city's suppliers. 

Trumbull County, McDonald, Niles and Youngstown provide the city with water, all but the city of Youngstown are charging more.

Girard's mayor says water department projects among some suppliers are partially to blame. 

The sewer rate increase will pay for EPA mandated upgrades at the city's wastewater treatment plant-- project totaling $18 million.

In the 1980s, federal funding was available for EPA mandated improvements.

"The cities at those times only had to pay about 45-percent of the cost, now they have to pay 100 percent of the cost," Jim Melfi said, mayor of Girard.

Melfi says the citizens are now the ones footing the bill for federal mandates and he believes the government should find a way to ease the burden on customers.

"We all want clean water absolutely, that goes without saying, but there has to be a better way to pay for it than entirely on the backs of the users," he said.