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Infrastructure committee advances consumption-weighted utility rate plan to City Council
Summary
The Topeka infrastructure committee voted to forward a consumption-weighted rate option ("Option 2") to the full City Council for an ordinance before rates take effect Jan. 1, 2026. The change would shift the base charge to active accounts and apply smaller consumption charges, with a modest average-bill increase for typical users.
At its Nov. 18, 2025 meeting the Topeka Infrastructure Committee voted to send a consumption-weighted utilities rate proposal—referred to by staff as Option 2—to the full City Council for consideration ahead of a Jan. 1, 2026 rate change.
Sylvia Davis, director of the Utilities Department, told the committee the department had already trimmed an earlier package, reducing a proposed overall increase from about 9.85% to 7.75% across water, wastewater and stormwater by cutting operating expenditures "by over 2%" and other savings. Davis said the department examined several approaches to the so-called readiness-to-serve charge and that…
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