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Springfield staff propose 5% local wastewater and stormwater rate increases; regional MWC board directs 5.5% regional adjustment
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Summary
City staff told the council that a proposed 5% increase to local wastewater and stormwater user fees (FY27) would help meet regulatory obligations, maintain reserves and fund capital needs; the regional MWC board recommended a 5.5% regional increase. Staff estimated an average residential impact of roughly $2.31 for local rates plus about $1.84 for the regional adjustment.
City staff presented the annual wastewater and stormwater user‑fee proposal and urged a modest, planned increase to maintain infrastructure and meet regulatory obligations.
Environmental Services Director Matt Stouderer told the council Springfield operates both a local conveyance system and a regional component (MWC) shared with Eugene and Lane County. He described system scale (about 250 miles of wastewater pipeline, roughly 16 pump stations; about 182 miles of stormwater pipe and more than 6,500 catch basins) and said user fees are the primary funding source for operations and capital work. Staff noted an asset value in the regional system of at least $500,000,000 and warned that aging pipelines and regulatory changes, particularly a pending DEQ stormwater permit, increase program costs.
Jeff Paschal and Stouderer recommended a FY27 local rate increase of 5% for both the local wastewater and local stormwater services; staff estimated the combined local increase would add roughly $2.31 to the typical residential bill. Separately, the regional MWC board directed staff to pursue about a 5.5% adjustment on the regional side, which staff estimated would add roughly $1.84 to a typical household. The council was advised that the local increases and any regional change would be added together on a bill and that the local proposal is intended to be incremental rather than reactive.
Councilors pressed staff on affordability, long‑term forecasts, reserve levels and whether improving construction bidding conditions would lower project costs. Staff said the rates follow a strategic financial plan developed with the wastewater master plan; they cited prior modeling showing more aggressive paths (e.g., an 11% rate in an accelerated replacement scenario) and said the 5% recommendation balances affordability and long‑term finance needs. Staff also told the council that the proposed FY27 budget intends to move the entire street‑sweeping program into the stormwater fund, adding approximately $300,000 and increasing pressure on stormwater rates.
The council indicated readiness to send the proposal to a public hearing for formal consideration.
