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Committee weighs water, sewer rate increases; members propose holding sewer raise while advancing water increase
Summary
Finance committee members discussed staff recommendations for a 5.04% water-rate increase and a 5.6% sewer-rate increase, with several members pushing to hold sewer increases because the sewer fund balance is healthy (~$3.0M) while advancing a water increase to shore up the water fund.
Olean—s Finance Committee debated proposed utility-rate changes during its April 1 meeting, with staff recommending a 5.04% increase for water and 5.6% for sewer, and multiple members asking to delay or reduce the sewer increase because the sewer fund was reported as healthy.
Finance staff reported the water fund year-end equity at about $385,000 and the sewer fund at about $3,000,000. Several committee members said the sewer fund—s balance makes a large rate increase unnecessary this year; one member recommended holding the sewer increase at 0% or at inflation rather than 5.6% and using the sewer reserves if needed for one-time needs.
At the same time, members expressed support for advancing the water-rate increase (staff—s 5.04% proposal) to strengthen a thinner water fund balance and to reflect infrastructure and operating-cost pressures. The committee asked the mayor and finance staff to confirm whether a previously adopted step-plan for equalizing water rates across user classes still applies and to provide the step details for the council to review.
No final council-level vote on rates was recorded at the committee meeting; members said they would return a proposal for the council to vote on after confirming modeling details and the phased step plan for implementation.
