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City of Montrose meeting examines larger utility-rate increases to cover rising costs
Summary
Officials reviewed multiple water and sewer rate scenarios and staff warned the current rates would leave the utility near a deficit; one member urged a larger, immediate increase to 'get ahead' of future shortfalls.
Staff member presented the city’s 2025 utility revenue and expenditure projections and ran several rate scenarios, saying that at the current unit rate of $7.75 projected revenue would leave the utility about $31,000 short. The staff member summarized scenario outputs and told the group, "If we increase it partially, we need to get us closer so that we're not at a deficit."
Committee member argued for a larger immediate increase to avoid repeated shortfalls, saying, "We need to rip the Band Aid off now, get ahead of it now," and urged the group to accept a bigger jump this year rather than a series of small increases. The Public works director cautioned that irrigation and secondary water use push customers into higher usage tiers, which affects revenue and customer bill impacts.
Staff member outlined example combined rates discussed during the meeting, saying, "So going back to our 5%, we'd be going to $12.60 and $6.56," and explained that covering 2025 expenditures without touching bond reserves would require higher rates (staff estimated needing about $13.20 and $6.88 to break even). The discussion did not conclude with a vote; members asked staff to refine projections and return with formal language for a future decision.
