Boardman council workshop weighs overhaul of water rate structure

The Boardman City Council met in a workshop to review the city’s water‑fund projections and to discuss whether to retain the current class‑based rate structure or move to a capacity‑based model. The meeting framed three documents for review: consultant findings, a 20‑year rate projection showing example percent increases, and a historical rate table going back to 1981.

Consultant Andy told the council the existing structure that charges different classes (residential, commercial, school) is “outdated” and that industry best practice is to align charges to meter capacity plus a single volumetric rate. Andy said the current projections assume no structural change and that a capacity‑based alternative would require building a formula and running account data: “The best practice ... today is base rate, 0 gallons provided with that in paying for all water used,” he said, describing how meter size multipliers allocate fixed infrastructure costs. Council members pressed on likely impacts to schools and low‑use households and were told some shifts in who pays are political choices the council must weigh.

Staff and the council discussed the model assumptions used in the 20‑year forecast — historical expenditures, CPI‑based inflation inputs from the Cleveland Fed, personnel and benefits escalators, modest population growth and periodic FTE additions — and asked the consultant to run a capacity‑based projection to compare revenue and distributional impacts. The meeting ended with direction to produce that alternate projection.

Next steps: staff and the consultant will prepare an alternate rate‑methodology projection and return to the council for further discussion.