A study commissioned by the city of Whitefish suggests significantly raising water and wastewater rates in the community to compensate for inflation and the cost of a new water treatment plant.
“Every now and then you need to look at your rates of service,” said City Manager Chuck Stearns, who added that Whitefish hasn’t increased its rates in more than a decade.
The report issued by Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. suggests raising the rates over the course of a decade. While regular water rates will increase anywhere from less than one percent to about 35 percent (depending on the location in the city and the use), wastewater rates would be set to skyrocket if the city decided to implement the increases. According to the summery of rate projections, wastewater costs could increase anywhere from 50 percent to more than 100 percent. The increases would mean a home owner in Whitefish that pays $31.82 a month for wastewater now would be paying over $60 by 2026. Stearns said those rates have inflation increases included in them. Stearns said how much a homeowner pays for water services varies greatly depending on where they live in the city; for example, if someone lives above the current water plant they pay more because of the additional energy required to pump the water to them.
The need to increase water rates is due to a new water treatment plant the city hopes to build in coming years. Stearns said that facility could cost upwards of $20 million.
Stearns noted that the rate increases in the study by Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. are just suggestions and could be lower if the city gets grants for the new wastewater plant. The rates will be the subject of a public hearing later this year.