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Bellevue council backs five-year plan to rebalance sewer rates
Summary
City officials directed staff to fold the Environmental Services Commission's five-year rate-equity recommendations into the utility rate proposals, shifting some costs away from multifamily fixed charges and phasing changes through 2031 while expanding bill-assistance options.
Bellevue City Council on May 4 directed staff to incorporate the Environmental Services Commission's recommendation to phase in sewer rate equity adjustments over five years, aiming to correct what staff said is an unintended subsidy from multifamily accounts to single-family and nonresidential customers.
Utilities Director Lucy Liu and staff outlined the analysis during a study session. "The goal is to make sure the sewer rates are fair for each type of customer," Liu said, describing a revenue-neutral effort to align rates with the cost of service across single-family, multifamily and nonresidential accounts.
The analysis presented by Deputy Director Scott Edwards and fiscal manager Matt Hobson found multifamily units are using substantially less indoor water than…
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