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Rocky Mount staff outline proposed utility rate increases for environmental services, water, sewer and stormwater
Summary
City staff presented forecasts that would raise residential environmental services bills by $1.75 a month, increase stormwater by $1 per month and propose multi-year water and sewer adjustments as the FY2026 budget is prepared.
City staff told the Rocky Mount City Council Committee of the Whole on March 30 that rising costs across utilities — disposal contracts, fuel surcharges, treatment chemicals and higher interest on financed projects — are driving proposed rate increases they expect to include in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
The presentation, led by Ken Varney and Peter Vaughn, forecasted adjustments across environmental services, water, sewer and stormwater to maintain operations and fund capital improvements. Varney said the city is proposing to raise the residential solid-waste rate by $1.25 a month and the recycling rate by $0.50 a month, a combined increase of $1.75 for most residential customers. He attributed part of the recycling cost rise to the national decline in exports of recyclable plastics.
“The recycling industry is not the way it was 10, 20 years ago,” Varney said,…
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