Chesapeake's water, sewer rates will see 5% bump in January

Yahoo

12 hours ago

CHESAPEAKE — Water and sewer customers in Chesapeake can expect the rates they pay to go up by nearly 5% beginning in January — a move city leaders believe will help keep up with routine maintenance and improvement projects.
Chesapeake City Council on Tuesday approved an additional 2% bump to the rates charged for water and sewer services, adding on to the 2.9% already approved for the current budget. That means customers will see a 4.9% bump in their rates in January, and they can expect a similar hike in future years.
Chesapeake Public Utilities Director David Jurgens told The Virginian-Pilot that an average single family using 5,000 gallons of water can expect their bimonthly bill to be about $281 starting in January. That includes all charges on the bill: 60 days of water and sewer usage as well as increases implemented by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District.
That's also up from the average monthly bill of $264.
Council members were briefed earlier this year on a rate sufficiency utilities analysis that suggested increases to maintain reserve balances and debt service coverage through fiscal 2035 due to increased construction costs and deferred capital needs for a host of utility-related projects.
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The utility fund faces an estimated $61 million in annual capital needs, with debt financing making up two-thirds of costs. The analysis suggested at the current rates, the reserve fund balance would be completely drained by fiscal 2035, and debt service coverage would fall below target by fiscal 2029 and in default territory by fiscal 2035.
Council's vote Tuesday, which was only opposed by council member Ella Ward, also established a multiyear plan to increase rates by 4.9% through fiscal 2032, which puts Chesapeake in line with Portsmouth's established 5% annual rate increases. City staff have said routine maintenance costs have 'far outpaced' the rate increases implemented, creating a backlog of critical maintenance and capital projects. Without the increase, the city runs the risk of critical failures in an aging water and sewer system.
Ward wanted to allow more time for the public to digest and weigh in on the proposal, but council moved forward with the vote after a handful of people spoke in opposition at Tuesday's meeting.
A previous presentation to council members showed that the 4.9% annual increase will generate $73.6 million for the multiyear capital improvement plan, allowing the city to address several improvements and upgrades to existing infrastructure and for projects to replace a water main at Bainbridge Creek Crossing and a sewer main on Freeman Avenue.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, [e-mail]