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Council renames 'readiness to serve' charge to 'base rate' after wide debate; opts not to change rate structure tonight
Summary
After lengthy public comment and debate about fairness and budget impacts, the council voted to leave the 2026 rates in place but change the label from 'readiness to serve' back to 'base rate'; staff said the prior policy produced revenue for utility-assistance programs and that eliminating it without replacement would create a projected shortfall for 2026.
The Topeka City Council spent significant time on Dec. 2 discussing proposed changes to water, wastewater and stormwater billing and the 'readiness to serve' charge that went into effect in 2024.
Multiple members of the public and council asked for clarity about who pays and how much. Utilities Director Sylvia Davis reviewed three staff options for 2026: (1) apply a reduced static base across the board, (2) apply an adjustment across consumption types (staff recommendation), or (3) an allocated base tied to meter size. Davis said staff and the public infrastructure committee favored option 2 because it applies costs in proportion to consumption. She said readiness-to-serve had provided revenue that funded utilities-assistance programs and that removing it entirely for 2026 would create a projected $582,000 shortfall for water and $457,000 for wastewater.
Public commenters raised concerns about repeated rate increases, the contractor selection process and the transparency of prior studies. Council members debated trade-offs between equity for low‑use residential customers and impacts on large commercial users. Some members said the name 'readiness to serve' was confusing; others argued changing the name alone would avoid a budget shortfall and give staff time to craft long‑term rate policy.
After discussion and a motion to leave the rate structure as currently set but change the terminology back to 'base rate,' the council voted in favor (8 yes). Staff said bills will display readiness-to-serve charges prorated through 2025 and will show the base-rate label beginning 1/1/2026 to avoid double-charging confusion.
