North Bend hosts open house with info on sewer rate increases, optional tour of wastewater treatment plant

North Bend officials have delayed a vote to raise sewer rates and connection charges, to give citizens more opportunity to learn about the proposed changes.

June 28, 2016 1:40 pm

North Bend officials have delayed a vote to raise sewer rates and connection charges, to give citizens more opportunity to learn about the proposed changes.

Council members agreed, after a lengthy discussion June 21 on the rate changes and how consultants the FCS Group calculated the increases over the next five years, to hold an open house meeting for residents who wanted more information.

The meeting is tentatively set for 7 p.m., Thursday, July 7 at the Mount Si Senior Center. Before the meeting, at 6 p.m., the city will offer an optional tour of the city’s city’s 50-year-old wastewater treatment plant. To RSVP for the tour, contact Don DeBerg, City Engineer at (425) 888-7652 or ddeberg@northbendwa.gov.

The plant is in need of nearly $30 million in updates City Administrator Londi Lindell said. She suggested tours of the facility could help to illustrate the need for long-deferred maintenance, which is one of the drivers behind the proposed increases to sewer rates and general facilities, or sewer connection, charges.

Monthly sewer rates in North Bend are projected to increase by about 2 percent this year, and by a total of 46 percent over the next five years, for the average residential customer. The rates recommended by the city’s consultant include a base charge for all users, plus a fee per cubic meter of water used. For most customers, the per-meter fee will be $5.54 (the current average user pays $5.40), increasing to $6.24 in 2017, $6.75 in 2018, $7.31 in 2019 and $7.89 in 2020.

Several council members noted that the use rate could help to encourage water conservation.

The connection fee, or General Facilities Charge is a one-time fee for capacity on the city’s sewer system. As proposed, the city will establish a new GFC for users in Tanner and Truck Town, part of the city’s last utilities expansion project (ULID 6), and increase the GFC for users anywhere else in the city. The new citywide rates will increase from $6,880 to $10,220 for the smallest connection; the ULID 6 rates will be $7,699 for the smallest connection.