EVERETT — The city’s public works department is proposing increases to utility rates for each of the next four years.
If approved, the increases to water, sewer and surface water utility rates would take effect Jan. 1 of each year until 2020.
The City Council would have to approve the rate hikes later this month so the city can give residents the required 30 days advance notice. A vote is scheduled for the council’s Nov. 16 meeting, although Councilman Paul Roberts has asked for more time to review the rate structure.
Rates for homes with water meters and those paying a fixed rate would go up a similar amount each year, with the metered rates rising slightly more.
Total utility bills for a meter water customer would rise from $93.60 now (assuming a single-family household consuming 700 cubic feet of water per month, the average for the city) to $101.10 in 2017, then rising steadily to $117.10 in 2020.
For those residents on a flat rate, the utility bill would rise to $106.34 now to $113.90 next year and climbing to $131.43 in 2020.
There are 6,867 residents who pay the flat rate for water, said Kathleen Baxter, a spokeswoman for the city’s public works department. That’s about one quarter of the city’s water customers, but it estimated they all will be converted to metered rates within three years.
The $4 solid waste fee included in utility bills would not change under this proposal.
The reason for the increases is to keep pace with the city’s capital projects. About $207 million worth of projects are scheduled over the next four years, said Matt Welborn, the city’s public works finance manager.
That includes continued work to separate the city’s sewer and stormwater systems to prevent flooding in the north end.
“The city issued about $40 million in debt in 2015 to help pay for upgrades after the record 2013 rainstorm and flooding,” he said.
“We’re still catching up from the 2013 storm event. We’ve never issued stormwater debt before,” Welborn told the council on Wednesday.
Rates cover about half of the cost of the department’s projects, he said. The other half is covered by long-term debt financing.
The council’s initial reaction to Welborn’s presentation on Nov. 2 was to ask for more information.
Councilwoman Cassie Franklin was worried about the cumulative effect of the increases — 23 percent over four years.
“In a short window of time, that’s going to be a pretty substantial increase for our residents,” she said.
Council president Scott Murphy asked Welborn if it were possible to issue a single short-term increase rather than a permanent rate increase.
Welborn said that was impossible because the bond payments over the long term require a permanent increase to maintain the city’s credit rating.
The city conducted a study earlier this year to compare Everett’s water and stormwater rates with other cities, and Everett’s rates placed near the bottom of the list, cheaper than the rates in Tacoma, Bremerton, Arlington, Bothell, Auburn, Seattle and Bellevue. Only Lynn-wood, Bellingham and Marysville had cheaper rates.
Everett’s relative ranking may move up a notch or possibly wouldn’t change next year, depending on if other cities also raised their rates, Welborn said.
The city’s 10-year sewer plan, adopted in 2014, calls for sewer and stormwater bills to rise between 5.2 percent and 10.2 percent until 2024, topping out at about $110 at that time.
The proposed increases in the next four years are still lower than that, Welborn said. The current proposal calls for increases of 12.3 percent initially, then dropping to 6 percent the following year and 5.7 percent thereafter. The combined water and stormwater bill for 2020 would be $79.65 out of a total bill of $117.10 for metered customers.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
| Year | Total bill (metered) | % increase | Total bill (flat rate) | % increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $93.60 | — | $106.34 | — |
| 2017 | $101.10 | 8% | $113.90 | 5% |
| 2018 | $106.32 | 5.2% | $119.62 | 5% |
| 2019 | $111.56 | $4.9% | $125.37 | 4.8% |
| 2020 | $117.10 | 5% | $131.43 | 4.8% |
Customers on septic systems or who are served by the Mukilteo Water and Sewer District aren’t charged for Everett sewer service. Rates include sewer, water, storm water and $4 for solid waste. Metered rates are based on consumption of 700 cubic feet per month.
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