Council hears three wastewater‑rate scenarios aimed at protecting single‑family bills while shifting more to commercial users

A consultant engaged by the city presented three alternative wastewater rate scenarios at an Aug. 4 council work session that would limit increases for single‑family residential customers and shift a greater share of revenue responsibility to commercial and non‑residential accounts.

Under Scenario A the consultant proposed a modest demand charge increase and no residential volume increase, resulting in an estimated $0.64 per month rise for a typical single‑family household using 5,000 gallons. Scenario B maintains the same residential treatment but raises the commercial volume charge more steeply; Scenario C spreads a 5% increase more evenly, producing a slightly higher residential change (about $1.84 per month for 5,000 gallons) while lowering commercial increases relative to Scenario B. The consultant emphasized there are many ways to structure increases and that the modeled choices compound into different revenue implications in later years.

Council members focused questions on whether small commercial customers could be carved out by meter size, how collection rates and missed billing could affect projections, and whether the city should adopt a new rate class for small commercial meters. Staff and the consultant agreed to model options that avoid a wastewater increase for customers with 5/8‑inch meters and to provide more granular billing data for follow‑up analysis.