Queen Creek council initiates process to raise wastewater capacity fees; public hearing set for Dec. 3

The Queen Creek Town Council voted 5-0 on a motion to publish a 60-day notice of intention to increase wastewater capacity fees and to set a public hearing for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2025; the motion, as read into the record, set a proposed effective date of Jan. 5, 2026.

Council action followed a technical presentation from Deputy Town Manager and CFO Scott McCarty, Utilities Director Mark Skocific and consultant Kuda Wekwe of DTA Public Finance explaining why the town plans to expand treatment capacity and how growth should pay for that expansion. McCarty said the fee update is required to “generate the money to be able to pay for the new treatment plant from those people who are coming here that are causing the new treatment plant to be built.”

Why it matters: Town staff and the consultant told the council that the regional Greenfield Water Reclamation Plant (GWARP), which Queen Creek co-owns with Mesa and Gilbert, has about 4 million gallons per day (MGD) of current capacity and is planned to be expanded by 2 MGD (to 6 MGD) as part of the town’s near-term plan. Kuda Wekwe said the study found the net fee per equivalent…