Topeka staff outline multi-year utility-rate plan to fund $260 million in water infrastructure

City utility leaders on July 21 outlined a proposed four-year rate schedule intended to support roughly $260 million in additional water-utility capital investment over the next four years and to put the utility on a more predictable, uniform volume-based rate structure.

Sylvia Davis, director of utilities, said the staff proposal keeps most residential base charges flat for small meters while increasing volume charges across customer classes to move toward a single uniform consumption rate. "We did not propose any increases to those base charges under 2 inches," Davis said, noting that nearly 99.5% of residential customers have meters smaller than 2 inches and would therefore see only modest monthly bill changes tied to consumption.

Staff illustrated example impacts: a typical 0.625-inch residential customer using 1,000 gallons per month would see a combined water/wastewater/stormwater bill increase measured in dollars and cents across the four years; a 3,500-gallon residential customer would see an estimated $3.52 increase in the first year when combining a switch in base‑charge policy. Commercial and industrial customers face larger incremental impacts because the proposal raises commercial and industrial volume charges to move to a uniform rate; staff noted a large industrial user could see substantial month-to-month changes and briefed meetings with major industrial customers.

Councilmembers asked detailed questions about capital funding assumptions (bonding versus cash), the city’s past pace of water-line replacements, debt-service fund balances and the effect of charging base charges on inactive accounts. Staff said capital financing would likely be a mix of 20–40% cash and the remainder bond-funded for the scenarios presented and agreed to return with a per‑year lane-mile replacement history (requested back to 2018), a full set of customer-impact tables and a draft ordinance for council consideration in August.

Public comments urged more transparency on past bond spending and asked staff to consider rate designs that protect low- and moderate-income households. Staff said they would provide the requested project and replacement data and an updated ordinance draft by the August meetings; the city manager asked staff to bring the ordinance forward for discussion on Aug. 11 and potential action on Aug. 18.

What happens next: Utilities staff will provide line‑replacement and bond-spending detail, present updated customer-impact tables and a draft ordinance at the Aug. 11 meeting, and the council will consider final action later in August.