The city of Tempe plans to increase its water, wastewater and solid waste rates in the coming year after an internal study showed additional funding is necessary for the financial stability of those departments.
Tempe City Council is voting at its Dec. 19 meeting on whether to adopt a notice of intention to increase utility rates and set the time and date for a public hearing on the proposed increases on Feb. 20, 2025.
Stephen White, public works business manager at the city, explained in a staff report that the Public Works Department worked with a contractor this year to complete a water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste rate study.
Based on this study, city staff recommends additional funding over a 12-month period, consisting of:
$7.7 million to support water services;
$5.9 million for wastewater services; and
$750,000 for solid waste services.
White noted in the report the additional funding will vary by classification based on the current revenue generated compared to the cost of providing the service.
“The typical Tempe single-family residential customer receiving water, wastewater and solid waste services will experience a monthly utility bill increase of $7.87 per month,” White said.
Funding adjustments are necessary to ensure the financial stability of the utilities by recovering operation costs and collecting sufficient revenue to fund capital improvement projects and maintain fund balances at a policy level.
In order to move forward with these utility rate adjustments, the city must adopt a notice of intention and set the date and time of the public hearing.
White said in the report that after the public hearing tentatively set for February, city council may then adopt the proposed rate increases.
City council will vote on the notice of intention at the Dec. 19 meeting, which takes place at 6 p.m. in the city council chambers at Tempe City Hall, 31 E. Fifth St. Meetings can also be watched on Tempe 11 on Cox cable and at www.tempe.gov/tempe11.
Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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