Customers of the Greenville Sanitary Authority will soon see an increase in their sewer bills.

Faced with a $67,000 budget shortfall because of lost government grant money, Borough Manager Vance Oakes said the authority had no choice but to raise rates.

"We debated this for a long time," said sewer board Chairman Larry Franklin. "We haven't had a rate increase in at least five or six years."

The decision will increase the amount residential customers pay for their monthly water bill by about $1.90 per month, Oakes said.

In Greenville, the sewer bill is based on a percentage of the water used each month by a customer. Currently, customers pay a sewer bill based on 62 percent of their water bill; the rate hike will increase that to 68 percent.

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