Stevensville meeting spotlights rising water and sewer costs, aging infrastructure and repair plans

Stevensville officials, a rate consultant and residents spent the majority of a town council meeting discussing the town’s water and sewer finances, recent rate increases and the town’s aging infrastructure. Bobby Shore of Montana Road Water System summarized a rate analysis and said rising power and chemical costs and existing loans require rates that produce enough revenue to operate and maintain the systems. The issue matters because council members and residents said customers are struggling to pay bills, some yards showed drought damage, and the town faces expensive capital work including leaks, a failing reservoir and planning for a new storage tank. Shore described the rate-analysis approach used for municipal utilities—inventorying operations and maintenance costs, debt service and reserves—and cited the Montana Code Annotated as the statutory guidance requiring rates that are fair, equitable and sufficient to cover system costs. He told the council the analysis showed recent cost increases concentrated in three categories (salaries, utilities and chemicals) and reported a two‑year increase of roughly $34,000 for sewer and $36,509 for water…