Jefferson Parish residents can expect their utility bills to increase incrementally over the coming years. President Cynthia Lee Sheng says this is part of the bigger picture moving forward to modernize the parish’s aging infrastructure. “Our infrastructure is old in Jefferson Parish, so I asked the Council back in 2021 to raise our rates so we could deliver a modern water and sewer system to our residents,” Sheng says.
Sheng says she understands nobody wants higher bills and she doesn’t relish the idea of being a politician openly telling her constituents that they’ll be paying more for services. However, she feels it’s important to the greater good of the parish moving forward, as much of the infrastructure is aging and could be a major financial problem if not updated. Sheng also noted that she will be long out of office in 20 years, when the higher rates end and residents see the fruition of projects being paid for by the increases.
While many may still call it a “water bill”, much more is covered under their utility bill that will be seeing this increase. “It’s more than just water. But, it really includes sewer, garbage, mosquito abatement, a new state of the art water lab, a new water plant, meters in every household, pipe replacement around the parish, and we will be revamping all eleven of our water towers as well,” emphasizes Sheng.