Saint Paul utility proposes higher capital spending, small customer rate hike and new low-income assistance fund

Raquel Vaske, general manager of Saint Paul Regional Water Services, told the City Council during a budget work session that the utility needs to raise rates modestly and shift more money into capital projects to address aging mains and replace lead service lines.

Vaske said two large projects anchor the proposal: a full lead-service-line replacement program and a multi-year rebuild of two-thirds of the McCarran treatment plant. She told members the lead program represents roughly $35,000,000 of funding in the proposal but that the utility has obtained state grant support for that effort, which Vaske said carries no direct rate impact for customers.

The utility’s proposed budget includes a 9.5% increase to both the consumption fee and base fee, which Vaske said equates to about $3.12 per month for a typical customer. She framed that increase as necessary to fund operating-cost pressures —…