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TOLEDO, OH -- Mayor Michael Bell's plan to increase water and sewer rates for City of Toledo customers met with staunch opposition Monday evening from citizens and some councilmen.

The Bell administration is proposing a 36 percent rate hike over four years to the amount residents pay for water, a 50 percent rate hike over four years for the sanitary sewer system, and a 40 percent rate hike over four years for storm sewer services.

According to Tom Crothers, Director of Public Utilities for the City of Toledo, says the rate hike is needed to fund desperately needed improvements in the city's utility infrastructure, including repairs and replacement of water mains and sewer lines. Crothers claimed the city is repairing, on average, 400 water main breaks per year and desperately needs to invest in new infrastructure.

However, citizens who attended the meeting were less enthusiastic, saying that Toledoans do not have the money to pay the higher rates.

Several councilmen, including Steven Steel and Michael Collins, say that this is the first they've heard about the dire condition of the city's water lines and they think the adminstration should have made them aware of their condition prior to requesting the rate increase.