New Yorkers will get soaked with a 12.9% jump in their water rates and tough new penalties for broken water meters, a city board ordered today.

The rate hike takes effect July 1, making it the third double-digit rate hike in a row – and creating an issue that could rile middle-class homeowners in the months before the fall elections.

“Enough is enough,” City Council Finance Committee Chairman David Weprin (D-Queens) told the Water Board, saying the city needs to do more to cut costs. “These water rate hikes have amounted to nothing more than a backdoor property tax increase.”

Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Steve Lawitts said the agency was able to trim the rate hike from 14% to 12.9% because fuel costs are falling and more people are paying their bills on time.

“Proposing any rate increase isn’t easy,” Lawitts said. “We’re especially sensitive to it in these times when the city and many of its residents are very financially constrained.”

He said the agency cut $16 million in operating costs – including 74 jobs – and saved another $29 million in borrowing costs for its massive construction program.

However, the rate hike also pours $194 million from water customers into the city’s general operating budget – a behind-the-scenes transfer that the Bloomberg administration has done nothing to change.

“We are legally obligated to make this payment,” said Water Board Chairman Alan Moss, saying any change is up to Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials. “It’s not a matter that lies within the board’s discretion.”

The Water Board also approved penalties for building owners who have broken or tampered water meters, or who refuse to allow inspectors in.

Bowing to complaints from building owners, the rules include an appeals process, stronger notifications, reduced penalties and a 120-day grace period.

(Source: NY Daily News)