Copperas Cove: City cancels utility discount for senior citizens

COPPERAS COVE, Texas (KWTX) - As of Oct. 1, senior citizens in Copperas Cove will no longer be able to receive a discount on their utilities from the city.

The Copperas Cove city council unanimously agreed during a meeting Tuesday to do away with the discount. The city’s attorney said the reason for the change is due to state law that classifies that type of discount as discriminatory. The city cites Texas Government Code, Chapter 1502 which partly states “the rates charged for services provided by a utility system must be equal and uniform.”

The council had been planning to gradually phase out the discount by gradually reducing it in increments but during a workshop last week, it decided to do a complete removal instead.

During Tuesday’s meeting the council also approved an amendment to the city’s fee schedule. The amendment includes increasing water, sewer, solid waste and storm water drainage fees.

The following figures provided by the city shows how the fee changes and the removal of the discount will affect utility fees for customers.

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