The South Beloit City Council on Aug. 4, 2025, directed city staff to return with multiple sewer‑rate scenarios after hearing that deferred wastewater infrastructure repairs are pressing and that the city must set a customer-rate increase to qualify for some IEPA (Illinois Environmental Protection Agency) low-interest loan programs.

The request matters because the council must balance needed capital repairs — including pump-station and sewer‑main work described at the meeting — against affordability for residents and ratepayers.

City staff and consultants presented options and urged the council to consider shorter review intervals. A staff presenter summarized modeled outcomes and said the likely revenue impact would vary by customer class; one staff member said the modeled rate scenario would amount to "about a 30% increase depending on which one you fit," and the council asked for multiple alternatives. The council asked staff to return with 5‑, 7‑ and 10‑year rate plans and to show versions both with and without a Class A sludge program, which the presentation said could produce revenue but is increasingly difficult to meet under tightening EPA limits.

Council discussion referenced the history of deferring sewer investments; one council member said earlier councils deferred necessary work for decades and that the current council must address costs to repair a pump station and related infrastructure that serves the city’s west side. Staff said some repairs are urgent (collapsed drainage pipe under Middle Road was discussed separately by engineering consultants at the meeting) and that model timelines were needed to pursue IEPA funding which requires evidence of a planned rate increase.

Specific figures discussed: a briefing referenced an example of a $3-per-quarterly incremental increase in one modeled path, and staff reported the scenario ranges could equal about a 30% increase for some customer classes under an aggressive short-term plan. The council rejected a single 20-year rate plan as too long and asked staff to present multiple shorter-term options; staff agreed to prepare alternatives that include and exclude Class A sludge revenues and to provide estimated revenue effects for each.

No ordinance adopting rates was passed at the Aug. 4 meeting; staff will return with the requested rate tables and revenue projections for council consideration. Council members emphasized the need for transparency on how proposed funds would be used and on whether Class A sludge processing could be sustained under evolving EPA rules.