Council tables utility-rate ordinance, asks for written interim rate study report from consultant

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — The Snoqualmie City Council on April 14 voted to table the second reading of Ordinance 13-03, which would have amended utility rates for 2025–2030, and instructed staff to obtain a written interim rate study report from consultant FCS Group summarizing the rate calculations (excluding the separate general facility charge analysis) used to justify the ordinance.

What happened: Councilor Brian Holloway moved to table the ordinance until an interim written report from FCS Group is provided; Councilor Joe Johnson seconded. The motion to table passed 6–1, with Councilor Kat Cotton voting no. Council members who supported tabling said they wanted a consolidated written document that clearly shows how the rates were produced and the council-level decisions that led to the proposed numbers.

Why it matters: The rate ordinance arises from a multiyear utilities rate study intended to produce revenue sufficient to cover capital projects, operations, and debt associated with the combined water, sewer and reclaimed-water utility. Councilors and members of the public pressed staff and the consultant on project cost estimates (including a recent bid for the reclaimed-water distribution improvements that exceeded the engineer’s estimate) and asked how cost increases would be absorbed without an additional rate increase later.

Council debate and public comment: Several council members and residents asked for more explicit documentation: Councilor Joe Johnson and others said they expected a study document in hand before voting and that residents should be able to see the consultant’s calculations. Mayor Pro Tem Holloway and committee members said the work had been extensively vetted in committee meetings and council workshops, but acknowledged that a concise written report summarizing the decisions would help inform a final vote. A resident who participated in committee meetings said she remained unconvinced the ordinance distributed adequate justification for impacts on commercial and multifamily customers and announced she would vote against the ordinance if it came to a final vote without the requested material.

Next steps: Council directed staff to ask FCS Group to prepare and deliver an interim “rates-only” study binder (rates portion of the full study, separate from the GFC component) as quickly as possible. Staff indicated completing that product could take weeks and that additional scope or contract amendments to FCS might be required. The council noted the GFC (general facility charge) work is underway and will follow; the interim report is intended to document the calculations and rationales used for the rate ordinance so the public and council have a single reference document.

Background context: Finance staff and the consultant previously presented rate options across many committee and council sessions beginning in late 2024. Department and capital-project schedules (including water reclamation and reclaimed-water projects) drive revenue needs; if projects come in higher than engineers’ estimates, council members said they want an explicit plan (which projects to delay or other budget adjustments) rather than implicitly increasing rates later without a clear record.

Vote: Motion to table ordinance 13-03 until an interim report from FCS Group is provided — passed 6–1 (motion: Mayor Pro Tem Brian Holloway; second: Councilor Joe Johnson).