West Bend, WI – Neighbors in the City of West Bend, Wi are noticing an increase in their billing for sewer rates. In May 2024 the common council approved the sewer rate increase, which is being implemented in two phases. The first increase of 35.22% went into effect June 1, 2024, and the second increase of 8.26% will go into effect January, 1 of 2025. Have you seen the increase on your bill yet?
Along with the sewer increase utility director Ruth Mueller said the Board of Public Works also approved an application be filed with the Public Service Commission to increase water rates.
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“The water utility is governed by the Public Service Commission, so we need authorization from them to increase rates,” Mueller said. “They review the application, and actually determine what the rates will be.”
Mueller said that determination will take between six to eight months. Taxpayers in West Bend can expect to see a water rate increase in 2025 of 21.85%.
The sewer utility is not governed by the PSC, so the city used auditing firm Baker Tilly to complete a rate study which was then submitted to the Board of Public Works and common council for approval. The last sewer increase was January 1, 2020.
Baker Tilly presented three options, and the council made the determination to select a 5% rate of return, which resulted in the 35.22% and the 8.26%, two-step increase.
The driving force behind both increases, according to Mueller were large capital outlay items, including the sand filter rehabilitation project for Phosphorus Removal at the sewer utility. That required an investment of $6.43 million. The key factor on the water increase is the construction of the water treatment facility to address PFAs contamination; the cost of that project was $7.2 million.
“Once this facility is completed and put into operations, we will then be able to restart well No. 4 and put it back into production,” said Mueller.
On a side note: This is just a little fun fact about the water tower painting schedule.
