Streator sewer fees could increase for first time since 2008

The closure of the 8th Avenue peanut butter factory in Streator not only affected the city’s job market, but also sparked the proposed increase of sewer fees.

When the Iowa Avenue factory closed, the city lost $180,000 in revenues to its sewer fund.

With the loss of the revenue and planned construction to meet federal standards of separating its storm and sanitary sewers, the city’s average shortfall will grow to about $300,000 per year, said City Engineer Jeremy Palm.

He is proposing a fixed rate increase to meter fees of 12% to $25.20 from $22.50 for the average household’s 5/8 meter. He proposed a usage rate increase of 17.2% to $2.75 per 100 cubic feet from $2.35 per 100 cubic feet.

The roughly 14% increase to the overall bill would push the average residential bill from $34.25 to $38.95. Comparatively, Palm said the average residential bill was $37.75 in Ottawa, $44.25 in La Salle, $28.15 in Pontiac, and $25.62 in Peru.

“This increase still puts us in the middle of neighboring communities,” Palm said.

Palm said the city has not had an increase in its sewer rate since 2008, and if the increase were to be measured annually since then, it would amount to a 1% hike per year.

Mayor Tara Bedei said she wanted the city to look into a smaller increase initially, with the idea of stair stepping increases from there, given the pandemic and inflation. Council members Timothy Geary and Jacob Darby said they both preferred small increases to the bills.

Palm said some communities have built-in annual increases to their sewer bills, and others increase the bill based on the consumer price index.

The council didn’t take official action on the proposal Tuesday, but City Manager David Plyman said he would meet with staff and put together a package for the council to vote on that reflected their wishes.