Macomb Township approves modest water and sewer rate increases; consultants warned larger wholesale hikes loom

The Macomb Township Board of Trustees approved new water and sewer rates on June 11, 2025 that the township says will stabilize utility finances while passing through part of expected wholesale increases from the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Utility Financial Solutions vice president Don Lund presented a multi-year financial projection showing operating losses and declining cash balances without rate adjustments and with planned capital spending. Lund said the township will likely need bonding to support a robust capital improvement program and noted Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) had signaled a 5.7% wholesale increase this year and larger increases in following years.

Lund recommended a 4.9% water rate adjustment for 2026 and a roughly 5.5% wastewater adjustment. Township staff and consultants modeled the customer and commodity changes and presented the estimated effect on a typical residential user billed quarterly. Under the approved schedule the water quarterly customer charge will rise from $19.00 to $19.95 and the water commodity rate will change to $4.87 per unit; the sewer quarterly customer charge will rise from $17.75 to $19.75 and the sewer commodity rate will change to $4.66 per unit. Township staff said the combined effect on an average household using 15 CCUs in a quarter is about $4.50–$4.75 per quarter for each utility, or roughly $3.00 per month total for water and sewer together.

Board members pressed Lund and township staff on the likelihood that GLWA will enact the projected 7.5% increases in later years and on whether volume declines (lower units sold) were reflected in projections. Lund said the projection used a five-year average of units to smooth recent declines and that GLWA’s stated increases are plausible given regional capital needs. Legal counsel and staff also noted statutory limits that keep utility funds self-contained and not available for general fund uses.

After discussion the board voted 6–1 to approve the water and sewer rate updates beginning July 1, 2025; Trustee Cusmano cast the lone no vote.

The township will monitor revenues and key targets and staff said it plans to revisit the rate track annually or biannually as costs and wholesale charges evolve.

The vote followed a public presentation and Q&A session from Utility Financial Solutions and staff, and the board directed staff to post corrected report materials to the township website.