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Resident raises concern about proposed water and sewer increase; finance director estimates about $18/quarter impact
Summary
At the Dec. 8 Wickliffe City Council meeting, a resident asked whether the city will raise water and sewer rates about 15% for 2026. The finance director said the average residential impact would be roughly $18.53 per quarter and that the change would reduce a general-fund subsidy to the sewer fund.
Cheryl Lawrence of Weber Avenue told the Wickliffe City Council on Dec. 8 that neighbors are worried the city will raise water and sewer rates by about 15% next year and asked for specifics. "Is the Wickliffe Finance Department planning on raising water sewer rates 15% come next year because we were all just hit" this year, Lawrence said during public comment.
Finance Director (unnamed in the transcript) replied that the increase reflects costs passed through by regional providers and a decision to stop subsidizing the sewer fund from the city’s general fund. He said the average residential increase would be approximately $18.53 per quarter based on the consumption assumptions the city used. "The average that we came up with it would be approximately $18 a quarter," the finance director said.
The finance director told council the sewer fund had been receiving an implicit subsidy from the general fund of about $400,000–$450,000 a year; the proposed rate change is intended to reduce or eliminate that subsidy and free resources for sewer rehab work. He said Euclid has implemented a larger multiyear increase and that Wickliffe reviewed options to avoid subsidizing the sewer fund.
Council members pressed the finance director on the city budget more broadly: the director said the city’s unencumbered cash carryover for November 2025 was $8,890,000 — roughly $1.09 million higher than in November 2024 — and he projected an end-of-year unencumbered balance in the neighborhood of $8.5 million once daily updates are finalized.
The finance director also noted an action by the commissioners that will take effect in 2026 and reduce several funds in aggregate by about $135,000 across the general fund, safety forces fund, capital improvement, and pension funds.
Next steps: the council did not take a formal vote on rates during the meeting; residents seeking further detail were told to await the formal rate ordinance and that the city will publicize changes through its normal notification channels.
