Camas council approves new water and sewer rates, adopts updated fee schedule; approves local donations and routine minutes and invoices

The Camas City Council on May 27, 2025, voted to approve changes to city water and sewer charges and adopt an updated consolidated fee schedule, actions the council said are intended to fund ongoing system operations. The council also approved routine business including minutes and invoices, authorized a $1,500 contribution toward Main Street flower pots, elected to keep rodeo tickets at $10, and voted to close a portion of the meeting to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation.

Why it matters: The ordinance and fee schedule set rates that take effect July 1 and will affect residential and commercial customers, including businesses with car washes and RV dump stations. Councilors said the increases are meant to better cover variable system costs and to adjust high-volume overage tiers that had been reviewed in recent budget discussions.

Water and sewer ordinance and fee schedule The council approved Ordinance 2025-06, which amends multiple sections of the Camas Municipal Code related to monthly metered water service and monthly sewer fees and updates the city fee schedule. The ordinance becomes effective July 1, 2025 (start of fiscal year 2026).

Key technical changes captured in the ordinance and accompanying fee resolution include: raising the overage charge for very high residential/commercial water use tiers (the 300,000-gallon-plus tier) to $4.25 per unit (an increase from prior levels discussed by staff), and establishing a structured annual increase (50 cents thereafter on specified tiers). Council members discussed how ERU assignments (equivalent residential units) apply to businesses; the council also directed that service stations that include a car wash be assigned the service-station ERU plus the car-wash ERUs, and voted to increase the ERU count for service stations with car washes to 5 in the fee table to better reflect usage.

Councilors discussed the newly added RV dump fee and whether the charge would be passed on to customers by businesses; the council noted the schedule will be reviewed annually. City staff said the changes were informed by prior public discussion and internal cost reviews.

Votes and record: The ordinance was moved and seconded and passed by recorded vote (councilors recorded in the roll call as voting yes: Jessica; Leslie; David; Monica; Larry). The ordinance text references amendments to sections 4.12.0.04, 4.13.0.03, 7.02.0.17, and appendix A (fee schedule) of the Camas Municipal Code and lists July 1 as the effective date.

Other votes and approvals - Approval of minutes: The council voted unanimously to approve the May 13, 2025 meeting minutes as presented. - Invoice register: The council approved the invoice register dated May 22, 2025, unanimously. Councilors asked staff to clarify a few line items tied to the Veterans Memorial project (bronze plaques and donated bench costs) during the discussion; staff said some costs had been prepaid and others were shared with auxiliary donations. - Main Street flower pots: Vicky Atkinson, speaking for the American Legion and volunteer organizers, requested funding for flower pots on Main Street. The council approved a motion to provide up to $1,500 to purchase and plant the pots (the farmer/florist may bill the city directly); one councilor indicated they would personally donate $100 to reduce any budget amendment. The motion passed unanimously. - Fee and rate resolution: The council adopted Resolution 2025-05, consolidating fee schedules for construction, building, water, sewer, facility rental, planning, sign code, business licenses and liquor licenses and incorporating the newly approved water/sewer tables. The resolution passed on a recorded vote (councilors recorded as voting yes included David; Monica; Larry; Jessica; Leslie). - Camas Valley Fiesta rodeo ticket price: After discussion the council agreed to keep rodeo tickets at $10 per night for all three nights to prioritize attendance and community access; council members asked staff and volunteers to intensify sponsor outreach and marketing to cover festival costs. - Closed meeting for litigation: The council moved, seconded and approved a motion to close part of the meeting to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation (vote recorded as yes by Monica; Larry; Jessica; Leslie; David). The council instructed staff to make and keep separate recordings for the closed session as required.

Public hearings and budget items Public hearings on proposed increases to culinary water and sewer rates and on the amended and tentative budgets were opened and closed with no public comment. The council noted the amended FY24–25 budget and the tentative FY25–26 budget will return for formal approval at a future meeting.

Other discussion items Councilors briefly discussed splash-pad costs after staff research indicated even small splash pads can run into the low hundreds of thousands of dollars because of water treatment and health-department requirements. Council members said a splash pad is likely cost-prohibitive without additional funding.

What comes next The ordinance and fee resolution take effect July 1, 2025. Staff will implement the new billing tables and will return next fiscal year to review the fee structure and system revenues. Councilors asked staff to provide follow-up details on advertising and sponsor-contact lists for Fiesta Days and to maintain clearer tracking of sponsorship outreach.

Ending: The council took the listed votes and adjourned into closed session for legal discussion after completing the publicly noticed business.