The City of Aberdeen is proposing significant increases in water and sewer rates beginning in 2020.
The City Council passed the second reading of an ordinance at its Oct. 23 meeting that would increase the rates to implement capital improvements over the next five years.
Per the ordinance, current sewer rates of $38.62 per month would rise to about $46 in 2020. Rates would rise by $6-$7 per year starting in 2021, with a proposed rate of $72 in 2024.
The monthly water rate for a single-family residence would rise from $25.78 to $26.78 in 2020. Rats will be raised annually: $29.78 in 2021, $32.78 in 2022, $35.78 in 2023, and $38.78 in 2024.
Stormwater runoff rates will also increase and no longer be based on each parcel’s expected rate and volume of stormwater runoff. For a single-family parcel, the rate would be $8.69 in 2020, increase by $2 in 2021 and 2022, with a rate of $13.19 in 2023 and 2024.
The city has for years deferred rate increases, said Public Works Director Rick Sangder. “We have kept them down for a long time and we just can’t do it anymore,” he said. He said if capital improvements aren’t made, “at some point if you don’t fix it you’ll be out of compliance.”
The city could face fines from the Department of Ecology should the aging infrastructure fail. Sangder said that would also lead to the state mandating what improvements need to be done, and when, taking control away from the city in prioritizing and implementing improvements.
The city had a consultant, Katy Isaksen, prepare a rate study to find the adjustments needed to cover the capital improvements the city has identified. The proposed rate structure for 2020-2024 is the result of that study and discussions between the Public Works Department and the City Council. City engineering and Public Works staff have identified specific improvements and developed a prioritized schedule to implement the improvements through 2024.
The city’s water capital improvement plan will be funded primarily with rates and reserves. A total of $7.7 million in improvements are planned, spread out between 2020 and 2024, including just under $2.5 million in 2020. The city will continue to replace 1,000-2,000 linear feet of water lines each year and will consider borrowing for the dredging of Malinowski Dam and new floating covers for the city’s reservoirs at a cost of $1.1 million.
The sewer capital improvement plan includes $11.4 million in improvements, to be paid by a mix of grants, borrowing and rates. Between 2020 and 2021, two pump stations would be replaced entirely, and two others would address pumps, piping and all mechanical infrastructure.
Sangder said the city’s current rates are among the lowest in the state. So low, the city can’t get larger grants.
“Our bills aren’t high enough to get the better loans,” said Sangder. “We actually could get grants we wouldn’t have to pay back if our rates were higher.”
City Engineer Kris Koski said utilities are self-funded with each utility’s revenue coming from ratepayers and, some times, other sources, including grants, and the respective expenditure goes to the operation, maintenance, and capital improvement of that utility. Utility revenue cannot be used to pay for city expenditures outside of the utility and general fund revenues are not used to pay for utilities.
The third and final reading of the ordinance will take place at the Nov. 13 council meeting and the council could vote on it then.
