Grand Coulee to look at utility hike Rates not keeping up with expenses

Grand Coulee residents could be looking at significant water and sewer rate increases soon.

The city council, in its meeting June 21, will determine whether there will be incremental increases or if the city will make a significant increase.

At the beginning of the meeting there will be a public hearing on rate adjustments.

Councilmembers took a look at the problem at their May meeting when they learned that revenues from their water service were not sufficient to cover expenses.

In 2015, water revenue was about $29,000 short of meeting expenses.

City officials had stated that rates need to be about $11 a month higher to cover cost-of-living and actual expenses.

City Clerk Carol Boyce said the city hasn’t raised rates for five years. Residents now pay $35.35 a month for 6,000 gallons of water. A total of 594 bills went out in April, Boyce stated.

Residents who receive sewer service from the city are also likely to be looking at an increase, but probably not as great an increase as for water.

The city and Electric City jointly own the wastewater treatment plant. Electric City owns 37 percent of the plant.

“The council will likely look at how we structure our billing to Electric City,” Boyce stated. “While we have been billing Electric City 37 percent of the operation, they account for 41 percent of the intake flow.”

It will be up to the council to determine if Grand Coulee is going to change the way it bills for sewer service.