Rochester Hills adopts amended water and sewer fee ordinance; typical residential bill rises about $7 every two months

Rochester Hills City Council on June 22 adopted ordinance 2026-0244 revising multiple sections of chapter 54 to modify water and sewer fees, effective July 1, 2026, following a second reading and staff presentation.

City staff said the city commissioned Plante Moran to perform a comprehensive rate study and recommended a package of adjustments: a 5.5% increase to the water rate (about $0.43 per unit), a 2.4% increase to the sewer rate (about $0.17 per unit), a 13% rise in the water ready-to-serve charge (about $0.40 per bill) and a 4.2% reduction to the sewer ready-to-serve charge (about $0.13 reduction per bill). Staff also proposed raising one-time water and sewer capital connection charges to the midpoint of the region's peer municipalities; tap and lateral charges remain competitively set and unchanged.

Using a typical residential consumption of 12 units per billing cycle (two months), staff projected an average combined water and sewer bill would increase from approximately $185 to $192 per two-month billing cycle, about a $7 change (~4%). Staff said a significant portion of the change reflects pass-through costs from the Great Lakes Water Authority and Oakland County Water Resources rather than a local mark-up.

Vice President Mangiapane and other council members asked clarifying questions during a brief discussion about pass-throughs and business tap fees; the council read and accepted the ordinance for second reading and adoption, scheduling publication in the Oakland Press on June 28, 2026.