TURKEY — With news that their water rates are rising at least $5 per 2,500 gallons, some of the residents of the eastern Sampson municipality are disheartened with how much this change is going to hit their wallets.

One resident who feels this way is Frances Butler, who doesn’t like the change but feels that there is nothing she can do about it.

“I got a letter telling me about it, and I read it in the paper,” Butler said of how she became aware of this change. However, she doesn’t feel that it will do any good if she speaks out about the increase.

“I just think everything is going crazy anyway,” said Butler.

DeLeon Tew, Turkey resident and husband of town commissioner Patricia Tew, also feels strongly that this increase is going to hit the community’s senior population hard.

“As far as I am concerned, I am fine with it,” said Tew. “But there are too many old people on fixed incomes.”

Tew, who was present at last month’s meeting when accountant Scott Bridgers addressed the board with his concerns that the town may run out of money, is still pondering exactly how Bridgers came up with his estimation that the town will be broke in three years.

“In three years, you will be out of the water fund and the general fund,” said Bridgers in the meeting. And, at that point, he established that the town will not only have to raise the water rate, but the town will also require a dramatic tax increase.

“I haven’t quite figured out how he got his information and how we got so scarce,” said Tew.

Tew is also concerned that town clerk Sarah White and town mayor Tim Clifton are not taking into consideration that Turkey is a small town.

“The mayor and the clerk are trying to make (Turkey) too big of a town, and you can’t make Raleigh out of Turkey,” said Tew.

He stressed that, if the town needed to raise water rates, the town leaders could have started with a smaller increase. From his estimation, half of the amount of increase would have been fine with him.

Turkey resident Lewis Cruse is also less than satisfied with the reality that his water rates are going up.

“There is nothing that I can do about it,” said Cruse. He added that, if he even considered speaking out, he would be worried that his water may be turned off.

Katie Holland can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 136, or by e-mail at silife@myclintonnc.com.