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Consultant: Willard needs big upfront water and sewer increases to avoid sewer shortfall
Summary
Consultant Carl Brown told the Willard City Council that rising treatment costs and near‑term capital projects mean the city should adopt large initial rate adjustments (modeled at roughly 48–51% revenue increases) and annual inflationary updates; a public hearing is set for Oct. 6.
Carl Brown, a rate consultant and former Missouri Department of Natural Resources official, told the Willard City Council that the city’s water and sewer utilities require significant initial rate adjustments to avoid a projected wastewater‑fund shortfall.
Brown said much of Willard’s wastewater treatment is contracted to the City of Springfield and that increases in Springfield’s charges, plus several near‑term capital projects, drive the need for revenue increases. “The rates are gonna go up a lot,” Brown said, summarizing his model of near‑term capital needs and treatment‑cost inflation.
Why it matters: Brown’s 10‑year model estimates water‑side revenues need to increase by about 48.6–48.7 percent and wastewater revenues by roughly 51 percent to bring funds current and to rebuild reserves over the planning horizon. Without adjustments, his projection shows the sewer fund falling into a negative reserve…
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