Sparks City Council on Monday adopted Bill 2846, a change to the Sparks Municipal Code that raises sanitary sewer user rates, sanitary sewer connection fees and septic rates to address an identified revenue shortfall and fund ongoing operations and capital needs. City Engineer Amber Sosa said staff recommends the increases to maintain required operating reserves and pay for rehabilitation and replacement of sewer system assets.

"The sewer user rates are proposed to increase 6% in 2026, 5% for each year in 2027 through 2030, and 4% in 2031," Sosa told the council during the second-reading public hearing. She also presented connection-fee and septage-rate changes recommended by the city's 2025 rate study: the connection fee per equivalent residential unit would rise from $7,567.55 to $8,052, residential septage rates from 0.06 to 0.11, and industrial/commercial septic rates from 0.075 to 0.13.

Sosa said the increases are intended to preserve a 60‑day operating balance, cover routine maintenance and chemicals, and provide funding for capital improvements. She described outreach conducted as part of a Business Impact Statement under NRS 233.080, including two public workshops, stakeholder briefings and notices to industry groups and the Reno Gazette-Journal.

No members of the public spoke against the bill at the hearing. After questions, Councilmember Rodriguez moved to approve the ordinance with an effective date of April 1, 2026; Vanderweel seconded the motion. The council voted unanimously to adopt Bill 2846.

What changes mean for residents and businesses: under the adopted schedule, a monthly sewer-user rate that Sosa said was $26.44 would rise to about $28.04 with the 6% 2026 increase; connection-fee increases will be tied in future years to the Construction Cost Index; septic-rate adjustments are tied to cost-recovery measures and proposed to be tied to CPI going forward.

Next steps: the code amendments take effect April 1, 2026, to align with billing cycles. Staff said they will implement the rate and fee schedule and follow up with materials to help residents and businesses understand bill impacts.