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Belfast Council approves higher sewer base and keeps overage rate unchanged
Summary
The council voted 5–0 to raise the sewer biannual minimum from 2,000 to 2,400 cubic feet (six‑month charge $202.40) and retain an overage rate of $8.43 per 100 cubic feet, a change officials say brings revenue in line with decades of billing practice shifts and funds treatment‑plant needs.
City of Belfast officials voted unanimously on Aug. 5 to change the structure of residential sewer billing, raising the semiannual minimum usage from 2,000 to 2,400 cubic feet and setting the six‑month minimum charge at $202.40. The overage rate will remain $8.43 per 100 cubic feet.
The change, presented by the wastewater superintendent, offsets a long‑running funding gap created when the city shifted from quarterly to semiannual billing in 1993 without adjusting the base usage. The presenter told the council that the recommended structure produces an estimated $681,000 in base revenue and about $849,200 in overage revenue, roughly covering the sewer budget.
"The updated recommendation here is the minimum usage be moved to a 2,400 cubic feet biannual bill from the 2,000," the wastewater presenter said, explaining that the adjustment narrows a revenue shortfall that had compounded over decades.
Councilors pressed on fairness and comparison to neighboring towns. The presenter said Belfast’s annual baseline charge will remain competitive with most similar communities and framed the increase as small on a daily basis — about 19 cents per day for the average minimum user.
Mayor Eric Sanders thanked staff for transparency. "Thank you for the transparency," he said during discussion, praising staff for identifying the historical issue and proposing what he called a fair adjustment.
The motion to set the base at 2,400 cubic feet and $202.40 per six‑month billing period with the $8.43 overage passed 5–0. Councilors said the city will issue notices to ratepayers, offer staff contacts for billing questions, and provide a tour of the treatment facility on Aug. 27 for residents who want to see how the revenue will be used.
The council approved the change as part of the 2025–26 rate-setting process; there was no recorded roll‑call of individual yes/no votes beyond the announced 5–0 outcome.
