Wellington trustees adopt utility-fee ordinance but remove proposed water-rate changes after tie vote

Wellington — Wellington trustees approved Ordinance No. 01-2026 on Feb. 24, approving updated fees for several municipal utilities while deferring proposed water-rate changes for further study and public review.

Megan Smith, deputy director of public works, presented recommended 2026 adjustments for water, wastewater and stormwater that reflect a 2025 utility rate-and-fee study and prior board direction. Smith said the recommendation "keeps the existing residential water rate structure" while moving commercial and irrigation classes to a uniform volumetric rate and reducing certain residential base charges by 3 percent. She warned, however, that the wastewater fund still needs larger rate increases to meet debt-service coverage targets: modeling shows an 18% increase in 2026 followed by further increases in later years.

Public commenters and the town ppointed Rate Advisory Group pushed for structural change. James Raymond, who identified himself with the Iron Horse neighborhood, urged the trustees to realign rates to current plant capacity and data, saying, "Users should pay for what they use." John Gator, who spoke for the Rate Advisory Group, argued that a 3% reduction on a "broken rate structure" would not fix systemic inequity and said the board had chosen "politics over policy" by removing the group's recommendation from consideration.

Trustees debated the trade-offs between the Rate Advisory Group's proposed linear (per-unit) structure and existing tiered rates. Supporters of the staff proposal stressed cost recovery for infrastructure, noting that heavy users impose greater pipe and treatment costs over time. Opponents said the staff proposal left many customers paying more than their usage warrants and asked that the RAG recommendation be published and considered in a future meeting.

An initial motion to adopt the full ordinance including the water-rate changes resulted in a 3–3 tie and failed. The board took a short recess to consult counsel and staff, then voted to adopt the ordinance with the exclusion of Section 1 (the proposed water-rate changes), approving stormwater and other fee adjustments while deferring water-rate changes for later public review. The board directed staff to return with additional materials so the public can review alternative rate structures before any future vote.

What changed: stormwater residential charges were proposed to move from $5 to $6.25 and commercial stormwater from $9.25 to $11.56; staff said this would raise roughly $50,000 annually but would not fully fund identified capital projects. Wastewater modeling indicated larger upcoming increases to meet debt-service targets. The board's action preserves the proposed non-water fee adjustments while pausing the staff pproach to water-rate structure.

Next steps: Staff will publish detailed alternatives and modeling for water-rate structures and present a clear packet for public review before the trustees take further action.