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Oak Harbor staff warn utility rates must rise to cover wholesale water, tipping fees and reserves
Summary
City finance staff told the council the combined effect of higher wholesale water charges from Anacortes, Island County tipping‑fee increases, inflation and a new infrastructure reserve will require multi‑year utility rate increases to avoid draining utility fund balances.
Oak Harbor Deputy City Administrator and Finance Director David Goldman told the City Council the city’s current utility rates are not sufficient to cover recent cost increases and recommended a series of rate adjustments phased over the next five years.
Goldman said wholesale water charges from the City of Anacortes will raise Oak Harbor’s water purchase costs by about $451,000 (roughly 22.5 percent compared with the 2024 budgeted amount), while Island County has notified the city to plan for roughly a 22 percent increase in solid‑waste tipping fees plus an inflation adjustment. “The current water rates are not sufficient to be able to cover those increases,” Goldman said, and staff will bring proposed water and solid‑waste rate adjustments to council for consideration in 2025 with implementation planned in early 2026.
Why it matters: Goldman showed modeled fund balances that go…
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