Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Meridian council reviews utility-rate options; staff recommends gradual shift to higher fixed fees
Summary
City Director Lorelei McPhee presented a health check of the enterprise fund and recommended a phased '9-4-3-1' rate plan to shift more costs to base fees, improving long-term solvency while keeping Meridian's rates below Treasure Valley averages; council asked questions but did not vote.
Lorelei McPhee, director overseeing Meridian’s enterprise fund, presented the council with a 10-year financial model and the results of a 2024 cost-of-service study at the Nov. 12 work session.
"We are the lowest rates in the Treasure Valley by a lot," McPhee said, and noted the city’s low rates reflect prior conservative planning and a debt-free posture. She told the council that Meridian currently allocates about 29% of water-system costs to base fees (the study identified true base costs near 73%) and about 23% of wastewater costs to base fees (study ~27%). Because average per-household water use…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
