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Riverside board approves modest water and sewer rate increase and raises manual meter‑read fee
Summary
Trustees approved a 2.25% adjustment to water and sewer charges to cover capital projects and supplier increases; staff also raised the manual meter‑read fee for customers who have not upgraded to new meters.
The Village of Riverside Board of Trustees approved an ordinance increasing water and sewer user charges by 2.25% and increased the manual meter‑read fee for customers who have not yet upgraded to the new radio‑read meters.
Director Yvette Zavala told the board the water rate would rise from $20.77 per 1,000 gallons to $21.31 per 1,000 gallons and the sewer rate from $5.45 per 1,000 gallons to $5.50 per 1,000 gallons, a combined average change of about 2.25%. Staff presented a bimonthly example showing a typical bill rising from approximately $104.88 to $107.24; the board noted the impact equates to a modest annual increase in the range staff provided.
Zavala said the increases respond to several drivers: a 24¢ per unit increase from the village’s water supplier (Village of McCook), planned capital infrastructure work including water main replacements and sewer separation projects, and a major lead service line replacement program. Those projects are funded by a previously approved $6 million alternate revenue bond, an IEPA loan application and available fund reserves; the water and sewer enterprise fund will pay project debt, not property taxes.
On meters, staff reported the village is about 98% complete in replacing water meters with radio‑read devices. Customers who still require manual reads were charged a $50 supplemental fee; the board approved raising that manual read fee to $100 on the bimonthly bill to reflect higher software and processing costs for maintaining two systems. Staff said the village will continue outreach and will introduce new customer software to allow residents to monitor usage.
Trustees approved the ordinance by roll call. The board also discussed enforcement options for remaining non‑compliant meters and confirmed that parkway bonds and other standard construction protections remain part of larger capital projects.
