Chambana Sun

During the May 16 Champaign City Council meeting, officials discussed plans to approve increasing sanitary sewer bill rates by 5% annually for the next two years.

At the meeting, which was streamed online, City Engineer, Dave Clark, said the decision to increase fees was based on input from Public Works Department staff. He said the city adopted the fee in 1990.

“The fee is adopted to help fund the operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the city's sanitary sewer system,” Clark said. “It's a main revenue source for the sanitary sewer fees.”

The revenue generated by the fee funds improvements to the city’s sanity sewer system as well as sewer infrastructure projects and the repayment of low-interest loans for larger projects, Clark said.

Officials also noted that the fee is set on the average daily water usage rates of residents, and it has been the council’s policy to review the fee each year to ensure they keep up with inflation and are able to meet city infrastructure needs, including future projects.

The city last raised the fee in 2021 when it was increased by 6% to $3.73 per cubic foot of water, according to discussions during the meeting. That rate increase went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

Staff, according to the discussion, recommended a 5% increase effective Jan. 1, 2024, for a rate of $3.92 per cubic foot of water, and an additional 5% hike the next year, for a rate of $4.12. A single-family home using 25 cubic feet of water daily currently pays $93.25 annually. Under the proposal, they would pay $97.91 in 2024 and $102.81 in 2025.

The council plans to review the fees in 2025 and continue reviewing those fees every two years.

Clark noted during the meeting that the fee hikes were driven by inflation, rising supply, and labor costs and to keep up with scheduled projects. He also said the fee is comparable to neighboring communities, including the Urbana Champaign Sanitary District, which charges $3.14, Savoy, which charges $4.01, Urbana ($4.37), Decatur ($5.95), and Normal ($8.38).

The Council decided to push the approval vote for the rate increase to a later meeting and will work to prioritize projects to ensure residents are not overburdened, according to comments made during the meeting.