STANWOOD — The cost of water and sewer service in the city is going up again in 2016.
It’s the third of six annual increases approved by the Stanwood City Council in 2013. Water rates go up 5 percent each year and sewer rates go up 3.5 percent.
In 2016, a typical Stanwood homeowner is expected to pay $5.43 more per two-month billing period, or about $2.71 more per month, for water and sewer than they did this year.
The average combined utility bill in 2015 is $158.85 every other month, finance director Greg Thramer said. It’s going up to $164.28.
The increase takes effect Jan. 1.
Over the next four years, the rate increases are expected to generate nearly $600,000 in additional revenue for city utilities compared to what the totals would be without the increases, Thramer said. The money goes toward staff, cash reserves and maintaining infrastructure such as water and sewer lines.
When the City Council approved the rate increases, staff estimated that the average monthly bill would go from $137.20 every two months in 2013 to $174.22 by 2019.
For most homeowners, “that’ll be in the neighborhood of about $3 more per bill each year until 2019,” Thramer said.
The city offers reduced utility rates for seniors or people with disabilities who have limited incomes.
More information, including an application for the reduced rates, is available online at ci.stanwood.wa/us.
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