Committee backs 2026 sewer rate changes, adds new member community to county sanitary district

The Cuyahoga County Council Public Works Committee on an administrative voice vote approved updates to the county's 2026 water, storm and sanitary sewer maintenance and sewage treatment rates and accepted a substitute adding a new member community to the county sanitary district.

Melanie Say, a Department of Public Works representative, told the committee the legislation is the department's annual request to "fix the sewer maintenance rates" used to maintain, operate, rehabilitate and repair sanitary and sewage systems for member communities. Public Works' Sanitary Division currently serves 40 communities (33 full-service and seven direct-bill), Say said.

Committee members discussed several community-level reallocations and the county fund that supports the work before accepting a proposed substitute that adds the newly joining community, Brattonau, to the legislation. The committee then referred the bills for…