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Mesa council approves utility rate adjustments after weeks of debate and extensive public comment
Summary
After a long public hearing, the council approved a package of utility fee adjustments (electric, gas, water, wastewater, solid waste) and a revised residential increase targeted at 2.5%, with increased commercial rates and a capacity fee; council emphasized smoothing future increases and committed to transparency.
Mesa City Council approved a set of changes to utility fees on Dec. 1 following a multi‑hour public hearing in which residents urged delay, questioned transfers to the general fund and asked for more transparency.
Staff presentation: Brian Richel, director of the Office of Management and Budget, summarized the rationale for adjustments: equity between residential and nonresidential rates, ensuring growth pays for growth with a capacity fee, conservation incentives and smoothing increases over multiple years. Staff recounted earlier versions of the proposal (initial study committee numbers showed a 5.5% typical residential impact; later staff work reduced the presentation number to 4.2% and council deliberations yielded a compromise residential increase of 2.5%). Richel said the utility fund still faces a projected…
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