photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured Thursday, July 7, 2016.

City leaders have approved utility rate increases for next year that will add $86 annually to a typical residential water, sewer and stormwater bill.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission approved increases to water, sewer and stormwater rates, as well as increases to commercial solid waste rates. Commissioners agreed the increases were needed to cover collection costs for solid waste and fund utility infrastructure improvements.

Commissioner Jennifer Ananda said that it would be negligent if the city kept rates flat and deferred infrastructure projects longer. If those repairs were not funded now, she said they would be pushed down the road and end up costing the city and its ratepayers more over time.

“If we reduce the amount of the rate increase, we are doing a disservice in the long term because those costs are going to be higher,” Ananda said. “And we know that income is not rising at the same level that construction costs are.”

Other commissioners agreed, with Mayor Brad Finkeldei saying that though the rate hike might be painful, the city had identified some important infrastructure projects. Given the economic hardship that some residents and businesses are facing amid the coronavirus pandemic, the commissioners also agreed it would be important for the city to work on expanding utility assistance for low-income residents.

Taken together, the utility rate increases will amount to an $86 annual increase over 2020 rates for a residential customer using 4,000 gallons of water per month, according to a city staff presentation. That is less than the $110 annual increase that city staff proposed earlier this year. Commissioners had expressed concern about the original proposal, and they said Tuesday that they appreciated the decrease. City staff presented multiple scenarios for each utility rate, including smaller increases and no increases at all. With each scenario, staff indicated projects that could and could not be funded.

Specifically, the commission approved a 7.75% increase for water and sewer rates, an overall 2.7% increase for solid waste and a 50% increase for stormwater. The change in the solid waste rate varies, with no increase for single-family residential customers, a 5% increase for commercial customers and a 3% increase for roll-off dumpster services. Because the current stormwater fee is relatively low, the 50% increase amounts to only $27 more annually for a typical household.

A utility bill assistance program is currently being funded through federal coronavirus relief funding, and when that funding runs out commissioners said they wanted to discuss an expansion of the city’s utility assistance program. Currently, only residents who have very low incomes and are also over age 60 receive reductions in their utility bills. Though in recent years past commissioners have brought up expanding that program, it has yet to happen. Ananda said a previously discussed program to allow residents to fund the expansion by rounding up their utility bills to the next dollar could help.

The commission voted unanimously to approve the water, sewer and stormwater rate increases. The commission voted 4-1, with Finkeldei opposed, to approve the solid waste rate increase. Finkeldei was not opposed to an overall increase, but he preferred a scenario that provided a decrease in rates for single-family residential customers.