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Cordele Commission approves 8% water rate increase and $0.50 monthly gas availability fee
Summary
After a detailed staff presentation and debate over options including block rates, the Cordele City Commission voted July 7 to raise water rates 8% across the board effective with the next billing cycle (early August) and to add $0.50 to the monthly gas availability fee; commissioners directed staff to study block-pricing and outside‑of‑city rate justifications and return with recommendations.
The Cordele City Commission voted July 7 to raise residential water rates by 8% across the board and to add $0.50 to the monthly gas availability fee.
The interim city manager (speaker 6) told commissioners the draft rate scenarios were aimed at maintaining operations, not creating new revenue streams: “This proposal is actually, dollars $696,000 less than the initial proposal,” he said while summarizing recent adjustments to the 2027 budget and stressing the need for modest, regular increases to keep up with operating costs. Commissioners questioned alternatives including block (tiered) pricing for high-volume users and different rates for customers outside city limits.
After discussion, the commission adopted an 8% increase on water rates “across the board,” to take effect with the next billing cycle (staff indicated implementation in early August). Commissioners also approved raising the gas monthly availability fee from $11.00 to $11.50.
The commission directed staff to return with two follow-ups: a block-rate study to examine charging higher per‑unit rates for excessive water use (with results to be revisited in January) and an engineering-backed analysis of the cost of providing service to customers outside the city limits. Several commissioners argued that outside‑of‑city pricing should be supported by an engineering study to justify differentials.
The vote on the water increase was taken by voice and recorded as approved; the gas fee motion also passed by voice vote. The commission discussed but did not change tap-fee schedules at the meeting and asked staff to bring a formal proposal on tap fees to the August 1 meeting.
What happens next: staff will implement the rate changes for the next billing cycle, begin the block‑rate and external‑service studies requested by the commission, and prepare a staff report on tap‑fee adjustments for the August meeting.
