Vicksburg officials approved an ordinance Friday raising city residents’ base rates for gas, water, sewer and garbage services for a second year.

The move came just hours after Mayor Laurence Leyens, South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman and North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield discussed the increases during the city’s proposed Fiscal Year 2007 budget hearing Thursday night.

Friday, Mayfield opposed the rate hikes.

&#8220I’m afraid if (the market) starts fluctuating more upwards than downwards, the system will start spiraling,” he said. &#8220What I asked (Strategic Planner) Paul Rogers to do was hold off on that to see if the market would fluctuate up or down in the winter.”

The majority of the city board views the increases, deemed &#8220minor” adjustments by Leyens, as a final step in the months-long budget process and a continuation of the hikes instituted to cover a $2.4 million net operating deficit in utility funds under the current budget.

Beauman Thursday stressed the increases were to curb losses in operating and maintaining utilities rather than purchasing costs, a deficit which in the proposed 2007 budget rises to an estimated $3.9 million. Much of that shortfall will be deferred through capital projects in coming years, Rogers said.

Natural gas rates will go up $1.90 per 10 ccf, Rogers said, which will add $3 to $5 to summer bills but could cause bills in the winter, when usage spikes, to go up $20 or more. Gas bills also have cost adjustments, which have been varying monthly according to what the city is paying suppliers.

Hikes in water and sewage of 25 and 26 cents per thousand gallons, respectively, will add around $1.75 to an average monthly residential bill.

The city increased gas, water and garbage collection rates as part of its current budget last August in an effort to decrease the general fund subsidy being transferred to its gas, sewer, water and residential garbage collection costs by passing the cost onto users instead. The rate for natural gas, which most city residents use for heating, was increased by 25 percent. Water rates went up 15 percent and sewer bills, which are based on water use, saw a 5 percent rate increase.

Since, the board has approved three monthly increases in gas rates to pass along increasing costs and approved an additional $2.5 million allotment to the city gas fund in April. In June, rates were dropped from $19.20 per thousand cubic feet to $15.86.

The total budget presented Thursday was the expected $28.6 million, about $124,000 less than the estimated $28.77 million Rogers expects the city to receive in revenue. The majority of city money in the general fund – for the coming year, more than $22 million – comes from property taxes, sales taxes and gaming fees.

Also Friday, officials agreed to a settlement agreement with Bowie River Construction Inc. of Hattiesburg. The company was contracted by the city to install fire hydrants on Kendra Drive but has been criticized by the mayor for &#8220doing a poor job.”

&#8220We were holding a deposit from them,” Leyens said later Friday. &#8220Those were the folks … that just trashed everything. Basically, we were making them pay for what we had to go and fix. We negotiated a settlement with them.”

A city water main project begun in July 2004 included installing hydrants on the road. Formerly part of Warren County, Kendra Drive was annexed 16 years ago.

Officials had said Bowie finished its contract but left some punch list items, including installing some fire hydrants and cleanup.

Municipal standards require a hydrant every 1,000 feet, but most are 300 to 500 feet apart.

The City of Vicksburg, which was 13 square miles, added 20 square miles in 1990 and has been working to extend municipal-level services since.

In other business Friday, the board: