Bowie council delays water-rate increase after hours of debate and public comment

City Manager Bert Cunningham told the Bowie City Council on Jan. 28 that the city’s water utility is losing money and presented two multi-year rate proposals intended to restore the utility to break-even and to fund a possible raw-water pump replacement.

The proposals — one that would raise rates about 16% in year one and 16% in year two, and a second that would raise rates 7% in each year plus a $7.50 monthly fee that would sunset in 2030 — drew extended discussion from council members and more than a dozen public comments. After questions about how much revenue the increases would actually produce and how the increases would affect low-income residents and local businesses, neither ordinance received a motion and both died for lack of action.

Why it matters: Bowie’s city manager said the water fund is operating at a loss and that without revenue changes the city may have to shift costs to other utilities or the general fund. Residents and business owners warned that steep increases could push businesses and…