Dallas water customers could be asked to absorb a rate increase of almost 14 percent, city officials said Saturday. The proposed hike, which would help finance two new facilities and maintain the city's aging infrastructure, would cost the average residential customer about $5 a month.

Some City Council members said they had anticipated that a modest rate increase would be necessary. But a jump of nearly 14 percent is more than a drop in the bucket, they said.

"Fourteen percent is too high," said council member Maxine Thornton-Reese. "It's too hard on poor people."

Council members will be briefed Wednesday on the proposed fee structure and will set the water rate when they approve the budget in late September. Water utilities officials cautioned that the proposed 13.8 percent increase is an estimate that could change during the coming months.

Additional revenue is needed to pay for growing maintenance costs, additional staff and new facilities that are required to meet federal guidelines, said Bob Johnson, the department's interim director. Costs have increased in recent years while water consumption has fallen short of expectations, he said.

"We've had budget problems the last couple years," Mr. Johnson said. "That put us in a position of not being as financially sound as we used to be."

The proposed fee increase comes during a lean budget year when the council is already considering raising sanitation and storm water fees. Adding higher water bills to the mix would be a triple whammy for residents, said council member Mitchell Rasansky.

"This is just coming at the wrong time," he said. "There are people in my district who can't afford this."

The city manager's preliminary budget outlook called for increasing sanitation fees 73 cents to $15.86 per month. If the propsed water rate structure is approved, the average residential customer's bill would jump from $35.73 per month to $40.66.

Dallas' current rates lag behind those of many cities across the country, according to city staff research. The city has increased water rates by only 1.8 percent since 1997. But in the fall of 2001, the council approved a "conservation tier" that increased the price of water for customers who use more than 15,000 gallons a month.

While water fees have held steady or grown only slightly in recent years, chemical costs and electric rates have increased. At the same time, the water system has grown and the department's staff has shrunk, Mr. Johnson said.

A recent efficiency study found that Dallas' water department has been slow to replace aging infrastructure, resulting in an abnormally high number of water main breaks. Additional staffing and revenues are needed to improve maintenance and finance capital improvements, Mr. Johnson said.

"The rate increase would simply allow us to continue doing what we're doing," he said. "We don't turn a profit. We only meet expenses."

Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill said investing in the water system's infrastructure is a priority.

"None of us is particularly excited about raising water rates, but we would not be pleased if we could not deliver services adequately," she said.

Ms. Lill and several other council members said they would reserve judgment on the proposed rate hike until they have been briefed on the water department's needs.

"The rate will need to be justified before we would pass on that kind of an increase," she said. "We anticipate spending the summer deciding what's a necessity and what we can wait to do."

[COMMENT: Personally, I don't consider a five-dollar average monthly rate hike to be much of a "burden" on anybody. What's the fuss all about? R.]

The city has stalled on raising water, trash and storm water fees, Ms. Lill said. Those delays could force the council to make some tough decisions this year.

"We knew that this was coming," she said. "Come budget time, we either need to increase fees or reduce services. These are the difficult realities."

Mr. Rasansky said he thinks that managing the water department more efficiently and implementing cost-saving measures could help stave off a rate hike.

"Our water department needs to be managed properly," he said. "Raising rates is not the thing to do without better control."