Water, sewer, garbage rates to increase

May 23—When you turn on the tap starting Nov. 1, it's going to cost a bit more.

And when you flush the toilet starting July 1, it will cost even more.

Though city officials insist Scottsdale pays less than most neighboring cities, City Council is raising water, sewer and garbage rates — again.

After a preliminary presentation in March, Council made it official at its May 14 meeting, voting to approve utility increases.

Various other fees, from garbage collection to off-duty police officer payments, will also rise after the unanimous vote.

"We're hiking fees for pretty much everything — across the board," Councilman Barry Graham noted.

"I think they deserve a better explanation beyond higher costs ... People want to know, do we have repairs that spiked?" he said. "Do we have capital improvements?

"We've gotten some feedback about 'Why are you raising my fees?'" Graham added.

Graham was told about half of Scottsdale residents will see their water bills increase by $6, with others having an increase between $2 and $3 (depending on water main size and usage).

"Everyone feels it as inflation hits us. The Water Department is no different," said Brian Biesemeyer, executive director of Scottsdale Water.

Council again is approving Biesemeyer's proposed water and sewer rate increases.

Biesemeyer asked for a 6.3% increase in water, effective Nov. 1, and 8% increase in sewer, starting July 1.

This is significantly higher than last year's increases of 4.2% for water and 5.8% for sewer.

This also marks the fifth-consecutive year or water-sewer increases, with the five-year average increase of 3.3% for water and 4.5% for sewer.

According to the presentation, the average residential user — with a 5/8" meter, using 9,000 gallons of water and 6,000 gallons of sewer — will have an average monthly bill of $59.12 increase to $61.32.

Though higher than a similar Chandler residents' $51.24 monthly bill, Biesemeyer stressed, even with the increase, Scottsdale will remain cheaper for water-sewer than monthly averages for residents in Tempe($64.31), Phoenix ($66.87), Gilbert ($82.83), Glendale ($84.89), Peoria ($85.01) and Mesa ($99.03).

The presentation on utility rate increases gave a bullet point list on increasing costs:

—Operating cost increases for raw water to include current drought pricing, put in place by Central Arizona Project (CAP);

—Operating cost increases for electricity in the Arizona Public Service (APS) service area;

—Increasing actions and costs required for drought preparedness through enhancement of conservation measures and messaging;

—Investment in new water resources to replace CAP supplies; Increasing cost for replacing and repairing aging infrastructure;

—Operating cost increases for personnel services and benefits.

Those with the smallest meters — 5/8 inches — will have the base fee increase from $15.05 to $15.10.

Users of the next-largest meters — 3/4 inches — will pay a base of $20.90, up from the current $19.40.

Commercial water users with 8-inch meters will have their base rates nearly double, from the current $526.75 to $903.

For usage rates, the first 5,000 gallons of water used per month remains at $1.65 per gallon. For 5,001 to 12,000 gallons, the rate is to remain at $3.10 per gallon.

But for 12,001 to 20,000 gallons, rates increase from $4.25 to $4.55 per gallon.

For 20,001 to 30,000 gallons, rates increase from $5.75 to $6 per gallon.

And a new category is created, charging $7.70 per gallon for everything over 30,000 gallons.

The new category is for commercial and residential water haulers and hydrant meters.

Sewer fees also are rising.

Monthly base fees for the smallest three meter users increase from $6.50 to $7.75.

Sewer, garbage rising

And sewer rates increase from the current $2.82 to $2.97 per gallon for residential users — as well as car washes, laundromats, medical institutions and schools.

Restaurants will have their sewer rates increase from $6.07 to $6.39.

Garbage collection rates are also likely to increase.

Residents with one garbage can will see monthly rates rise from $28.03 to $30.27 — an 8% jump.

For recycling, those with 90 gallon carts will have monthly fees increase by 22.4%, from $11.11 to $13.60.