Elkton held a public meeting Monday night to discuss the town's budget, including a proposed 60-percent hike on sewer rates.

The hike would help pay for mandated improvements to the town's waste water treatment facility. It calculates to be about a $17-per-month increase for the average person.

Town manager Reid Wodicka said the state Department of Environmental Quality is mandating the town increase the rates to pay for improvements to the waste water treatment plant.

Wodicka said the plant was built in 1981 and has seen little improvements over the years.

He says, "We really don't have a choice whether or not to fix this problem. The choice is whether or not we want to raise the rates to the point where we can get a favorable loan from the state. If we don't do this, it will cost us about $2 million more in the long run for the life of a loan, and the interest payments.

Casey Billhimer, an Elkton businessman for 15 years, says he thinks sewer rates haven't increased much since he's worked in town.

"I personally don't have a problem with the rate going up. I know it will effect some of the older people but it's long overdue," says Billhimer.

Wodicka says, after the hike, the new rate would equal the standardized rate set by the DEQ. He said the average resident will pay about $40 a month for sewer.

The public hearing is at the Elkton Area Community Center at 6 p.m.