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County bio‑solids project, wastewater base-rate change and yard-waste fee loom as household cost increases
Summary
Council reviewed an expected wastewater base-rate structure change tied to county bio‑solids work and discussed a suggested yard-waste fee increase; staff flagged $85/year example household impacts and offered options to soften the increase by using enterprise fund balances or phasing changes.
Oak Island — Town staff told council on April 28 that changes driven by a county bio‑solids project and other wastewater capital needs will affect utility customers and that the town is exploring options to limit the immediate impact on households.
Staff explained that the wastewater billing base (currently tied to 4,000 gallons) and per‑1,000-gallon charge will be adjusted to reflect county capital costs passed to participating towns. Staff described mechanics (rate per 1,000 gallons and base volume) and worked through example figures presented to the council: the county-driven change translates into a per‑household impact that staff estimated could be about $85 annually for the typical base case, with larger rental properties bearing more of the variable charges. Council asked whether enterprise-fund balances could be used to phase or offset the change; staff said the town has funds (e.g., the 40 fund and other wastewater reserves) that could be deployed temporarily to lessen the immediate hit while spreading the cost over more than one year.
On solid waste, staff proposed a modest increase in the yard‑waste fee (the transcript referenced a $3.50 monthly fee and a suggested increase to about $2.15 in one discussion scenario for the broader solid-waste fund, with staff noting that collection is only one component of the cost). Staff also said the town is absorbing a 4.8% contract increase from GFL Recycling and is attempting to avoid compounding multiple rate increases for residents in the same year.
Why it matters: Enterprise rates are passed through to utility customers and can rise quickly when external partners or capital needs change. Council emphasized transparency and asked staff to identify options that minimize the combined annual effect on residents (examples included absorbing some of the increase using fund balance or phasing the pass-through over multiple years).
Next steps: Staff will present rate scenarios for wastewater and solid waste (including multi‑year smoothing options and reserve-use options) in the recommended budget and will provide public-facing explanations for the May presentation.
