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| Fri, Aug. 29, 2008 |  |
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Hot Springs higher sewer rates lawsuit reversed, hearing ordered Thursday, May 8, 2008 Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The state Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered a new hearing in a class-action lawsuit challenging the city of Hot Springs' decision to charge higher sewer rates to residents living outside the city limits. The appeals court reversed a circuit judge who decided for the city. In granting summary judgment against the plaintiffs, Garland County Circuit Judge John Homer left questions about the city's contract with the residents unanswered. Residents living outside city limits sued the city in 2004 after it enacted a rate schedule that was significantly higher for them than residents within city limits. Until then, all Hot Springs sewer customers paid the same rates. The 2004 ordinance also imposed higher debt-service for residents outside the city. In his decision, Homer said, among other things, that the city's contracts with the various improvement districts did not provide for equal rates between district users and in-city users. The judge also said the contracts were entered into willingly, the method of setting sewer rates was legal and the ordinance was constitutional. |
