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Council discusses water and sewer rate increases, agrees to raise RV dump equivalent and refine top tier for public hearing
Summary
Council discussed a multi‑year draft water and sewer rate schedule, agreed to present the schedule beginning in FY2026 at a public hearing, and directed staff to treat RV dump station use as equivalent to multiple ERUs (the council discussed and moved toward 4 ERUs) for sewer billing. Staff will post materials online for the May 27 hearing.
Kamas City Council members and staff discussed proposed multi‑year increases to the city’s water and sewer rates, agreed to shift the first effective year to fiscal 2026, and directed staff to treat the commercial RV dump station as equivalent to multiple sewer ERUs when presenting the proposal at the May 27 public hearing.
The rate discussion matters because the water and sewer funds underpin service reliability and planned capital work; staff told the council the water and sewer funds are under pressure and that system replacement needs (including an aging main and upcoming projects) contributed to the proposed adjustments.
Scott (staff member) presented a draft rate schedule that would phase increases over multiple years; he recommended starting those increases in FY2026 rather than FY2025. Councilmembers and staff discussed each tier and the rationale for higher marginal prices at larger consumption levels. Councilmember Dave proposed increasing the highest water consumption tier by a larger increment than the others — moving from $3.25 per unit to $4.25 for the largest users — and several councilmembers supported raising that top tier to better reflect the cost of extreme usage.
On sewer, staff proposed a new charge for the RV dump station. After discussion about actual usage volumes and the quality of wastewater from dump station users, councilmembers concluded the RV dump should be priced at multiple Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) rather than a single ERU. Participants debated whether to set the RV dump at two ERUs and then moved to a higher equivalent; after exchange, the council settled on presenting four ERUs for the RV dump as part of the proposed schedule to the public.
Council also asked staff to prepare a plain‑language explanation of why rates are changing (sample bullet points include last rate change dates, rising operating costs, impacts of wages and benefits, and identified infrastructure replacement needs) and to post the proposal and explanation online at least a week before the May 27 public hearing. Staff said it would post the rate schedules and an FAQ and invited councilmembers to send edits to the explanatory text within the next week.
No final rate adoption occurred at the meeting; the council instructed staff to advertise the proposed schedule and the May 27 hearing and to return with any refinements after public comment.
Key technical points and next steps
- Rate schedule start year shifted to FY2026 for phased increases. - Council supported raising the highest water consumption tier to $4.25 per unit (proposal to be finalized for hearing materials). - Council directed staff to present the RV dump commercial station as equivalent to four sewer ERUs for the hearing. - Staff to post a plain‑language justification and the draft schedule online for one week before the May 27 public hearing.
