Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water And Sewer Rates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Broken Bow holds hearings on proposed 10% water increase and new industrial sewer rate
Summary
The Broken Bow City Council held public hearings and performed first readings of ordinances proposing a 10% water rate increase and a targeted industrial sewer rate to shore up reserves and reduce pressure on residential customers. Council declined to waive the required three readings so no rates were adopted on Nov. 12.
Ryan Jones, Water/Sewer Superintendent for the City of Broken Bow, told the council on Nov. 12 that the water enterprise needs a 10% rate increase — about 2.5% per year since the last increase in 2020 — to rebuild reserves and cover repairs.
"To get to where we need to be on the water side, we need to have a 10% rate increase," Jones said during a public hearing on Ordinance 1293. He said the board worked with Nebraska Rural Water and compared costs with similar communities.
Administrator David Schmidt displayed comparative charts and said the combined water and sewer adjustments would average "about $11–$14 per month per consumer." Schmidt said the goal is to avoid bonding for routine repairs and to build reserves for unexpected failures.
On the sewer side, Jones said the system is losing money and the city proposes both a general sewer rate increase and a new industrial per-thousand-gallon rate aimed at businesses whose discharges burden the treatment process. "We are proposing an industrial rate ... it will keep [residential] rates from rising as much," Jones said, and he added the city discussed the proposal with the business identified as BD, which Jones described as receptive.
Mayor Rod Sonnichsen urged transparency and recommended council not waive the three required readings so the public could review details; the council voted unanimously to not waive readings and the first readings of Ordinance 1293 (water) and Ordinance 1294 (sewer) were performed.
Because the council declined to waive additional readings, no rate changes were adopted at the Nov. 12 meeting. The proposals will return for the remaining readings before any final action.
