Council work session advances plan to raise sewer rates, target high-strength dischargers to close $283,000 shortfall

At a Aug. 25 council work session, Town and Country Engineering and city public works staff outlined a four-part rate plan to close a projected $283,000 funding shortfall in the sanitary sewer utility for fiscal 2025–26. The plan would raise a $1 monthly fixed fee, add $0.20 per 100 cubic feet to volumetric charges, revise fixed fees by equivalent meter size and begin enforcement of local "category B" surcharges on high-strength industrial dischargers such as Riverside Foods.