The public forum at the Century Center to discuss raising South Bend water rates was not well-attended, and ended up being a brief event.

The rate could be going up by more than 40-percent through a process of multiple phases, but only one person showed up to voice his opinion at the meeting Tuesday night.

“People on fixed income like me, I’m on social security and I know a lot of other people in the same boat it’s really a double whammy at the same time,” Steven Lee, a concerned ratepayer, told ABC 57.

The hearing before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission only lasted 15 minutes due to the turnout. In the interest of giving the public more of a chance to be heard, they are inviting written comments through Nov. 13.

The next commission meeting is set for January, and a decision is expected next spring.