Stanton council adopts five-year sewer-rate increase after public hearing; no majority protest

The Stanton City Council voted 4-1 on June 10 to adopt higher annual sewer service charges that city staff and consultants say are needed to pay near‑term capital repairs and keep the sewer enterprise fund solvent.

Michelle Banigan, the city’s finance director, presented the proposal and said notices were mailed in English, Vietnamese and Spanish and that the rate study began with an initial presentation in March. Chris Fisher of Willdan Financial Services detailed the financial analysis supporting the change and recommended a multi‑year schedule of increases.

Fisher said the current annual charge for a single‑family equivalent unit is $72.25 and that the proposed change would raise that to $87.42 in the first year — “a little over $15 on an annual basis” — with further scheduled increases in subsequent years. He told the council the study projects roughly $10.5 million in sewer capital projects over five years, mostly…