St. Charles residents to pay more for water, sewer beginning this summer

St. Charles residents soon will be paying more for water and sewer service.

Rate adjustments for the city’s water and sewer service were approved at the May 1 City Council meeting and will be reflected on the June utility bills.

Alderpersons approved a 6% increase in water and sewer rates. Last week’s approval comes after water rates were increased by 12% last year. The city recommended no adjustments in the electric rates. City utility bills reflect monthly electric and water meter readings and include usage charges for all three utilities.

The motion passed in an 8-2 vote, with Alderpersons Rita Payleitner and Steve Webber voting no.

The overall impact of the rate adjustments is about 3.2% of the total utility bill charges. According to city staff, the increase in a typical utility bill would be about $8 a month.

Rate adjustments for water and sewer service are needed to fund capital improvements to the city’s water and wastewater systems, according to a news release from the city of St. Charles.

At an April 17 government operations committee meeting, staff recommended a 12% water rate increase, which would result in a revenue increase of about $800,000 annually, but alderpersons argued that a 24% increase in two years was too high.

Alderpersons Payleitner, Webber and David Pietryla were openly against the increase during last month’s committee meeting. Pietryla made the motion to reduce the increase from 12% to 6%.

With her final vote at her final City Council meeting May 1 before stepping down, Payleitner voted against the 6% increase.

“It’s time more residents find direct financial benefits in their pockets from all our sales tax on liquor, cannabis, whatever,” Payleitner said. “I would like to see that happen. Hence my no vote tonight.”

At both meetings, Finance Director Bill Hannah presented staff’s recommendations for the water and sewer rate changes.

Hannah said the need for the increase comes from almost a decade of deferring improvement projects in an effort to relieve residents of some of the financial burden caused by inflation and the pandemic.

“It’s a problem that cannot be solved with one-time revenue sources,” Hannah said.

Hannah said with $80 million to $100 million worth of necessary infrastructure improvement projects on the horizon, the city is at a point where it cannot afford to put off any more rate increases.

For information about rates, visit https://codebook.stcharlesil.gov/title-13 or call 630-377-4426.