Council approves first readings of water and sewer rate changes and miscellaneous utility fee updates; staff cites cost recovery and tap-fee modernization

City staff presented and the council approved first readings of ordinances to update water and wastewater rates, tap and meter fees, and miscellaneous utility account fees during the Aug. 26 meeting.

Chelsea Solomon, water utilities director, told council the update reflects inflation, higher raw-water costs, regulatory changes and increasing rehabilitation needs. Staff presented an overall volumetric water increase of about 9% and a wastewater increase of about 12% for FY2026; staff said a typical residential customer using 10,000 gallons per month would see an increase of roughly $13.40 in the first year of the rate change.

Tap and meter fees Solomon and other staff explained that many tap and meter fees had not been updated since 2001. The proposed updates recalculate charges to reflect equipment, labor, truck-roll and administrative costs. Staff said single-family water and wastewater tap fees were proposed to change from $500 per dwelling unit to $625 per dwelling unit (water/wastewater fees that had not been updated since 2001).

Miscellaneous utility fees and same-day service Sherry Hernandez, customer billing manager, explained updates to miscellaneous utility account fees, including separating same-day connect fees within the ordinance for clarity. Hernandez said same-day requests require rearranging crews, issuing new work orders and redirecting equipment and therefore carry higher marginal cost. Staff said these fees are intended to recover the actual cost of expedited service rather than spreading that cost across all ratepayers.

Council action and timing Council approved the first readings of the water and sewer ordinances and the miscellaneous-fees ordinance; staff indicated the ordinances are scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, 2025, concurrent with the FY2026 budget.

Why it matters: The rate updates and fee modernization will change monthly bills and developer/service-connection charges across customer classes and reflect a multi-year planning approach to infrastructure funding and cost recovery.

Speakers (sources used in this report) - Chelsea Solomon, Water Utilities Director, City of Georgetown (presented rates, tap fees and rationale) - Sherry Hernandez, Customer Billing Manager, City of Georgetown (presented miscellaneous utility fees)

Clarifying details - Water volumetric: overall increase presented ~9% for FY2026. - Wastewater volumetric: increase presented ~12% for FY2026. - Example: customer using ~10,000 gallons per month would see roughly a $13.40 increase in FY2026 (staff example). - Tap fees: single-family dwelling tap fee proposed change from $500 to $625 per dwelling unit for water/wastewater connection fees. - Effective date: staff indicated the rate and fee changes would take effect Oct. 1, 2025 if adopted through the required readings.

Ending Council advanced the water/wastewater and utility-fee updates on first reading. Staff will proceed with second readings and final ordinance publication and implement changes in the billing system and customer communications ahead of Oct. 1, 2025.