PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – City sewer and water rates will be going up in Portage for the first time in four years, and it’s for the same reasons they are rising in the rest of the metro area.
The Portage City Council will hold a public hearing on the rate hike Tuesday night, and then vote on the increases, which will boost water and sewer bills for the average household by about 5.5%.
The rate hike proposal was set by consultants who studied the actual costs of operating the system. They factored in a rate increase approved by the City of Kalamazoo for sewage treatment, inflation, projected maintenance costs, and other factors. Portage operates its own water system.
Last year water and sewer bills remained unchanged in Portage and rates actually declined the two previous years.
Kalamazoo and surrounding townships will actually see a double-digit increase this year. The kind of rate hikes that Portage homeowners saw over a decade ago, and for the same reason…to catch up on deferred maintenance.
The Portage City Council meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.
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