Oak Park finance panel backs staff to draft 2026 water, sewer ordinance after rate study discussion

The Village of Oak Park Finance Committee voted Sept. 9 to recommend that staff prepare a 2026 water-rate ordinance after receiving a presentation of NewGen Strategies' water and sewer rate study and public comment critical of the proposed changes.

The recommendation, which passed by voice vote with trustees present concurring, directs staff to bring an ordinance to the Village Board for consideration. The committee's action is advisory; the Village Board will take any final vote.

The study presented by Eric Colocchio, partner at NewGen Strategies, recommends a cash-flow neutral overall rate change for fiscal 2026 of roughly 9.4–9.6 percent while shifting revenue collection toward higher fixed charges. Colocchio said the firm proposes doubling the fixed service charge (a 100 percent increase in fixed revenue recovery from about 5 percent to just under 9 percent of total revenue) while increasing volumetric usage rates to cover rising core costs such as wholesale water purchases and distribution labor. "That overall rate increase in terms of dollars is about $2,000,000 — it's about 9.6 percent, consistent with the cash-flow neutral scenario. We're just rebalancing where you're getting that revenue between fixed and variable," Colocchio said.

Deputy Public Works Director Erin Duffy summarized the study's scope and financing assumptions, saying the village purchases 100 percent of its water from the City of Chicago and sends wastewater to a regional reclamation district. Duffy said the 2026 capital program in the consultant's model assumes roughly $10 million per year in capital spending for pipes and other distribution…