Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Clean Water Services presents 2026 rate options; commissioners ask staff for a 3% scenario and savings analysis
Summary
Clean Water Services staff presented a 10‑year financial forecast and recommended a 4% rate increase for 2026; commissioners pressed staff to produce an alternative scenario showing how a 3% increase could be achieved or how $1.8 million could be offset through operational savings or use of reserves ahead of a June 17 public hearing.
Clean Water Services (CWS) staff presented the utility’s 10‑year financial forecast and a proposed 4% rate increase for the 2026 fiscal year during a joint Washington County Board of Commissioners work session on June 3.
Kathy Leader, CWS chief financial officer, told commissioners the district maintains a 10‑year forecast, updates it annually, and uses it to evaluate rate needs and debt issuance. Leader said the forecast currently assumes a 4% annual increase for combined sanitary sewer and stormwater rates and that, under the forecast, capital investment needs will rise in the near term because of large projects in the East and West basins, laboratory upgrades and conveyance work.
The nut of the discussion was whether to proceed with a 4% increase that staff said was needed to protect reserves and fund planned capital work, or to seek a lower near‑term increase while directing staff to find operational savings or use reserves. Commissioners repeatedly asked for more analysis of…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
