Paying a little more now, will help avoid flushing money down the drain later on Janesville water utility bills. Finance Director Max Gagin says starting Friday, the water utility will increase revenues by more than 50 %, to avoid using debt as a way to pay for the city’s water main replacement program. Officials decided issuing debt to replace one-percent of the water mains per year was unsustainable. The new program is projected to nearly eliminate the Water Utility’s $24-million in outstanding debt and avoid almost $43-million in interest expenses over the next 25-years. Gagin reminds residents water is only about one-quarter of their utility bill, and the average increase will be less than $8 a month.
