Council reviews manual of fees and utility-rate options; average increase estimated around $12.50/month

Broken Arrow’s City Council held a special meeting before its regular session to review the annual manual of fees, with staff focusing on proposed adjustments to utility rates and other service fees.

City Communications Director Aaron McCullough said the manual lists fees for city services, permits and utilities and is reviewed each year. "This is the document that the city puts together every year, and it outlines those fees that the city charges for public services," McCullough said.

Councilor Justin Green said staff presented multiple options and recommended increases for fiscal year 2026; no action was taken at the special meeting. Green said the average customer impact under the options discussed would be about $12 to $13 per month. "From what I remember last night, it seems like the average cost, average increase would go up about $12.50 a month," he said.

Officials said utility-rate changes would be brought back to council at one of the two August meetings and, if adopted, would be scheduled to take effect Oct. 1 (the start of the city's fee year). Councilors emphasized the city must balance service costs and maintenance needs with resident budgets; staff noted rising input costs such as electricity, concrete and topsoil as factors driving recommendations.

Green said tapping reserve funds to avoid rate increases is constrained by council policy to keep reserves for emergencies such as storms or flooding. "We do have a reserve on hand, and council does have a policy that...requires and encourages to keep x amount of reserves on hand," he said, adding that using reserves could leave the city unable to respond to disasters.

The transcript does not include a final adopted fee schedule, the specific option favored by staff or a vote tally; the council indicated a formal adoption is expected in August.