Public Works committee recommends filing simplified rate case for Middleton water utility

The Middleton Public Works Committee on Aug. 11 voted to recommend that the Finance & Personnel Committee and Common Council authorize Middleton water utility staff to file a simplified rate case (SRC) with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC). The SRC is intended to examine incremental rate adjustments ahead of multiple large capital projects and to avoid a single, large rate increase later.

Mike Meyer, Middleton’s water utility manager, told the committee the SRC would allow the utility to take smaller, more regular adjustments rather than a full conventional rate case that can produce larger, more noticeable jumps. “If we do these in incremental amounts of times, we can avoid doing a full on rate case study, which is a lot more work,” Meyer said. He described upcoming projects including development of well 7 (roughly $5,000,000) and completion work on well 5 (roughly $2,500,000), and said the next five years will be “a big lift in the water utility.”

Committee members pressed staff for context. One member noted the packet listed a 3.58% rate of return and asked whether that represented revenue over expenses; staff confirmed that figure. Members asked how often benchmarks change and why Middleton’s rate of return was below the statewide benchmark in 2024; staff said the PSC is the regulatory body that oversees utility rate processes and that SRCs are typically used between full rate cases (roughly every three years) but are not meant to be annual filings.

A motion recommending authorization for staff to file an SRC was moved and seconded; the committee approved the recommendation with one abstention. The vote authorizes Middleton staff to begin the PSC filing and analysis; it does not authorize any immediate rate increase. The SRC will be reviewed in detail by Finance & Personnel (with Finance Director Bill Burns) before any action that could change rates.