Georgetown staff outline higher water and wastewater impact fees, present phased increase and rate changes

City of Georgetown staff on Tuesday briefed the City Council on revised water and wastewater impact-fee calculations and recommended fee schedules tied to a large capital program that includes water supply from the East and two major wastewater plants.

The update summarized work by the council-appointed impact-fee committee and consultants, outlined a proposed step-in approach to raising fees over multiple years and explained how projected growth, capital projects and financing assumptions determine the maximum assessable fee. "First item on your workshop is a discussion on water and wastewater impact fees," said Wesley, a city utilities staff member who led the presentation.

The presentation said the city's combined impact-fee collections have been roughly $38 million this year (water is the larger share), and that the city is projecting substantial capital needs: nearly $1 billion in water improvements tied primarily to an "East" water supply and hundreds of millions for wastewater, including the proposed 3 Forks and Northlands wastewater treatment plants. Wesley said many of the East‑water costs remain speculative and "nothing's been bid out. So they're high level engineering estimates at this point." He also noted impact fees may be recalculated if project costs change.

Why it matters: impact fees are charged to new development to pay a portion of system expansion; higher fees shift a larger share of capital costs to new development and can affect developer decisions about whether to connect…