Cape Girardeau council to put water-rate charter amendment on August ballot to lift 5% cap

The Cape Girardeau City Council voted to place a charter amendment on the Aug. 5 ballot that would raise the city’s cap on annual water, sewer and solid-waste fee increases from 5% to 15%, City staff said.

City staff summarized the case to the council as a funding fix for an aging water system that staff estimates requires roughly $56.5 million in treatment and distribution improvements in the next 10 years, with additional work bringing the total to about $63 million over a longer horizon. Miss Mills, a city staff member who presented the proposal, said the charter’s current 5% cap “is not workable in our existing circumstance, so” the change is needed to maintain operations and pay for capital work.

Why it matters: the city operates the water utility as an enterprise fund and staff said the current annual cap prevents fee adjustments needed to fund operations, maintenance and major capital projects. Miss Mills told the council the city’s affordability index is low (0.76% of median household income) but that grant eligibility and the system’s fiscal sustainability require the ability to set rates higher than the existing 5% limit. Without changes, staff warned, reserves could be exhausted; the presentation said the current fee structure would place the utility into negative reserves by 2027 if larger increases are not allowed.

Details and timeline: the council authorized sending the proposed charter amendment to the ballot on Aug. 5, 2025. Miss Mills described that, if approved, the new charter language would allow council to set annual fee increases by ordinance up to a 15% ceiling. Staff gave an example that a full 15% increase would translate to an average monthly bill increase in the range of about $2.39 to $2.67 for most customers (the city said bills vary by usage). She also reminded the council that a previous ballot measure in November 2024 to suspend the 5% limit for a one‑time increase did not pass; that earlier proposal included larger one‑time increases the staff estimated then at roughly $8.19 to $13.89 on the average monthly bill.

Council discussion and next steps: multiple council members praised the presentation and said they want staff to continue public education ahead of the August vote. Miss Mills and the city manager’s office said the city will continue public outreach and discussion through the summer. The council approved the motion to place the amendment on the ballot; the vote was recorded as carried by the council.

What remains unresolved: the ballot measure itself must be approved by voters; the council did not adopt any rate ordinance tonight. If voters approve the charter change, subsequent rate proposals would be considered in future council meetings.