TROY, Ohio - Residents of Troy will be keeping some money in their own pockets - for now.

The Troy City Council voted Monday to reject a proposed 10-year plan for water and sewer rate increases, ending weeks of discussion and debate on the issue. The burden is now back onto Troy Service and Safety Director Patrick Titterington to formulate a plan that will keep both the city and the providers happy.

Had they passed, the increases would have been the first in four years. The increases were needed to keep fund balances at levels required by bond rating companies and to pay for upcoming projects to meet state and federal regulations.

If the bond rating company is not satisfied with the fund balances, the city's bond rating can be lowered, resulting in higher costs when money is borrowed. Titterington's plan was for 10 years and called for a 7 percent sewer rate increase annually the first eight years followed by 2 percent increases in years nine and ten, beginning with the fiscal year of 2010.

Titterington said he is unsure about what his next move will be, but said he didn't immediately anticipate a revised rate increase proposal.