Clive council proposes shift to fixed-variable water rates, holds general rate flat and raises irrigation 2%

City of Clive staff on Feb. 12 presented a planned overhaul of the city’s water-rate structure that would shift the billing model from a fully variable design to a blended fixed-and-variable approach, hold residential and commercial non‑irrigation water rates flat for FY2627 and increase irrigation rates by 2%.

The proposal, developed with PFM consultants and modeled on the AWWA M1 manual, would reallocate revenues into an availability (fixed) charge tied to meter size (staff cited a 30% fixed / 70% variable split in the recommended approach) to better match the city’s costs under its membership in Central Iowa Waterworks. “That's roughly about a million $900,000ish dollars of what CIWW charges us,” a staff presenter said while explaining the fixed-cost exposure; the presentation showed roughly $916,000…