Farrell council took the first step in raising sewer fees by adopting an ordinance on its first reading Monday.

The ordinance must be adopted again, and the hike, which was recommended in December, would take effect March 1.

And while the ordinance does not specifically set a standard for manufacturers, the city will use a formula that gets rid of two separate fee systems that had been used.

The first part of the hike is to increase the charge for administration and debt from $13.63 for each equivalent dwelling unit to $16.91. The charge is levied every two months.

An EDU equals 1,086 cubic feet of residential water usage.

For manufacturers, the city will base the number of EDUs charged by the number of employees, said City Manager LaVon Saternow.

Four employees will equal 1 EDU, she said.

The city will contact manufacturers annually for employment figures in order to calculate the number of EDUs, she said.

Some employers had been charged $2 an employee, while others were charged the flat residential rate. Those discrepancies will be abolished, Mrs. Saternow said.

The charge for water usage also will be going up, from $1.34 for every 100 cubic feet of water used to $1.40.

The average residential customer's bill will increase from $28.18 every two months to $32.10, said Dan Goncz of consulting engineer Gannett Fleming Inc., Pittsburgh.

The rate hike is needed to cover an increase in operational expenses, and a jump in the interest rate to pay back a $2.1 million loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority.

The PENNVEST loan was taken out to renovate and expand the wastewater treatment plant on Broadway.

The 20-year loan had a fixed rate for the first five years, and the rate went up for the next 15.

While council raised sewer rates in 1998 to prepare for the loan payments, it last raised rates for operations eight years ago.