KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Water and wastewater rates will be going up in the City of Kalamazoo again in January, but slightly lower than last year.
City Commissioners got their first look at the proposal yesterday afternoon. Utilities Director James Baker says the recommendation from the Regional Utility Policy Committee is for a 5% increase in water rates and a 12% increase in sewer rates.
That’s on top of the 6% and 12% they went up last year. That works out to $2 more per month for water and $3 for sewer.
(courtesy City of Kalamazoo)
Despite the increase, Baker says the rates here will remain among the lowest in the state. City officials estimate that only Wyoming and Muskegon will have lower rates next year.
Baker says the fact that Kalamazoo uses ground water, which is cleaner to begin with, and not surface water like other communities is one reason rate payers here pay less.
He says the city’s financial staff work hard to secure grants and to find other ways to moderate the growth of rates.
Baker says stricter regulations, higher costs for everything from pipes to chemicals, to hauling sludge to the landfill have increased their prices, and the city is just passing those along.
(courtesy City of Kalamazoo)
The plan is to formally present the higher rates at the next City Commission meeting this month and approve the recommendation at their first meeting in December.
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