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West Chicago council approves third-party water and sewer rate study to map 20-year infrastructure needs
Summary
The West Chicago City Council on May 18 approved a resolution to hire a third-party consultant for a water and sewer rate study intended to produce a 20-year infrastructure plan and a 5-year financial model; staff said the contract was negotiated down to about $120,344 though the agenda listed a not-to-exceed amount of $128,344.
The West Chicago City Council on May 18 voted to authorize a third-party water and sewer rate study designed to inventory aging infrastructure and model future rate options. The resolution (26R0036) authorizes the mayor to execute an agreement for the study after council review and passed on a roll-call vote with all members present voting in favor.
Mehul Patel, the city’s public works director, told the council the study will benchmark West Chicago against nearby communities, assess the condition of pipes and treatment facilities and produce a 20-year maintenance and rehabilitation program plus a five-year financial plan. "We have 100 and probably 150 miles of water main in the city, and 50 miles of that is already over 50 years old," Patel said, noting the study will help prioritize work and avoid larger costs later.
Patel described the work as two parts: an infrastructure assessment that will produce a multi-decade rehabilitation schedule and a financial analysis that will model rate structures, debt service coverage, reserves and sensitivity scenarios. "The rate study really does not mean it's an automatic rate increase. It's only given us more data points to make a better educated decision," Patel said.
Staff described a discrepancy between the packet’s not-to-exceed figure and staff’s negotiated fee. The meeting packet listed a cap of $128,344 for the water and sewer rate study; Patel said the vendor proposal had been negotiated to roughly $120,344. Council members asked about timing and outputs: staff said the intent is to complete the study by October so results can inform the next budget cycle and any future rate decisions.
The council’s approval sends the study under contract and authorizes staff to work with the consultant to produce prioritized capital needs and rate-modeling scenarios for council review. Final decisions about any rate changes will remain with the council following presentation of the study’s findings.
