Water rates in Springfield will rise 32% beginning March 1 and another 32% a year later after contentious debate among City Council members and a 7-3 vote on Feb. 20.
“We don’t have a choice,” Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer said of the increases, the first since 2011.
He blamed prior city councils and prior mayoral administrations for inaction that led to City Water, Light & Power’s water division becoming cash-strapped and ill-prepared to deal with state-mandated lead line replacements and other infrastructure improvements.
But Ward 6 Ald. Jennifer Notariano, one of three council members voting against the increases, told Hanauer, “We do have a choice.”
She said the combined increase, which will total 74% after two years compared with current rates, is too high and “not necessary.”
Notariano said many residents will be financially harmed by the hikes, estimated to increase the average residential customer’s water bill by $4 or $5 a month in the first year, plus another $5 to $7 a month additional cost in the second year.
She proposed amendments to cap any water rate increases beyond the two 32% increases at 4% or 5% in 2026 and future years rather than whatever the Consumer Price Index dictates. But those amendments failed by votes of 6-4 and 7-3, respectively.
When the proposed 4% cap deadlocked on a 5-5 vote, Mayor Misty Buscher broke the tie among the 10 alderpersons by voting against the cap.
Several voting against the caps said they wanted to give CWLP more financial latitude to deal with future inflation and cost increases.
Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr., who joined Notariano and Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory in voting against the increases, said he wasn’t convinced all of the $18.4 million to be raised by new rates in the next two years would be needed.
“There’s always a way around this,” he said. “We can fix this without taking it out on our citizens.”
The council also approved 32% annual sewer rate increases for the fiscal year beginning March 1 and the following fiscal year. That vote, with nine alderpersons voting “yes” and Williams voting “present,” lacked the debate that preceded the water rate decision.
The increase in sewer rates – the first since July 2022 – will pay for sewer system improvements mandated by the federal government and other needed improvements but not for the treatment of sewage, Chief City Engineer Nate Bottom said. The increases will generate about $6 million over the next two years, he said.
Sewage treatment is handled by another unit of local government, the Sangamon County Water Reclamation District.
The debate about water rates came during the same four-hour-long meeting where the council adopted a $680 million-plus city budget for fiscal 2025.
The budget included a corporate fund of more than $190 million, which funds police, fire and public works departments and other core city services. The budget also funds the operations of CWLP, the city’s municipally owned utility.
The budget passed unanimously and included $12 million in spending from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. That money represents the last of $33.8 million in ARPA funds received by the city to deal with ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Changes made to the budget before final passage included plans for the city to borrow $10 million for the ongoing construction of three new fire stations.
The borrowing will reduce part of the $23 million in corporate fund spending and $7 million in ARPA spending that had been budgeted for fiscal 2024. The borrowing will free up corporate fund dollars to pay for increases in the new fiscal year budget, Buscher administration officials said.
The budgetary changes also reduced originally proposed pension payments by $5 million, but the new budget still maintains payments of 100% of state-mandated minimum levels.
The council considered, but ultimately voted against, a proposed amendment by Ward 4 Ald. Larry Rockford to remove $280,000 from the fiscal 2025 budget that had been set aside for the purchase of a vehicle to start a municipally operated ambulance service.
Rockford said he hasn’t decided whether he supports such a service to supplement what is provided by the two for-profit and one nonprofit ambulance services operating in Springfield. But he said the issue needs more study before money is included in the city budget for an ambulance.
Ward 7 Ald. Brad Carlson said he opposed the amendment because leaving the money in the budget would “elevate the discussion” and give local hospitals, providers and city officials more of an incentive to have in-depth discussions on the pros and cons of a potential municipally operated ambulance service.
The council vote on Rockford’s amendment was 5-4. Voting against the amendment, along with Carlson, were Hanauer and alderpersons Chuck Redpath of Ward 1, Erin Conley of Ward 8 and Jim Donelan of Ward 9. Voting for the amendment were Rockford, Gregory, Williams, Rockford and Notariano.
Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase said she voted “present” because she sits on the board of the nonprofit ambulance provider, MedicsFirst of Springfield.
The budget also includes $250,000 in ambulance supplies.
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer at Illinois Times. He can be reached at 217-679-7810, dolsen@illinoistimes.com or twitter.com/DeanOlsenIT.
This article appears in How to succeed as a Black-owned business.
So, what will this mean in dollars and cents for the average Springfield resident that uses 5 units of water per month?
Well, assuming your water meter is actually read each month and not estimated, effective March 1, 2024 your water bill will be $59.47 – an increase of $7.68 from last month. This is due to the first 32% rate increase that was just passed this week for CWLP’s Water Division and The City of Springfield, Office of Public Works, Sewer Division.
Then on May 1, 2024 your water bill will be $61.40 – an increase of $1.93. This is due to the rate increase that was recently approved for the treatment of your sewage by the Sangamon County Water Reclamation District.
And then on March 1, 2025, your water bill will be $71.53 – an increase of $10.13. This is due to the second 32% rate increase that was just passed this week for CWLP’s Water Division and The City of Springfield, Office of Public Works, Sewer Division.
And this is all just assuming that there are no further changes to the water and sewer rates between now and then.
That’s a $19.74 increase, per month – just for water and everything related to it over the next 12 months!
Might want to get those gutters cleaned out and your cars washed before the end of the month while it’s still warm out.
We don’t have a choice,” Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer said of the increases, the first since 2011.
Yes, you and everyone else on the council do have a choice, such as not spending money on an unneeded $50 million plus! dredging project, giving the lead water line replacement another year to see what grants from federal and state sources can be obtained and lobbying efforts for more funding
Instead, the council takes the easy route and once again raises taxes, which is killing the city. This tax increase on top of everything else will put more on the street and overload social service organizations with food basics.
“He blamed prior city councils and prior mayoral administrations for inaction that led to City Water, Light & Power’s water division becoming cash-strapped and ill-prepared to deal with state-mandated lead line replacements and other infrastructure improvements.”
This is just a bald-faced lie.Unfortunately, Springfield lacks the media in numbers; otherwise, past records would be pulled to show this is total fabrication, to say the least!.
This would also prove that this issue has come up every year with several plans to pay for it and has been completely ignored by most of the past city-council members,
Just like starting an effort to build underground power lines, that idea has all but disappeared.Again, despite strong majority of the residents feeling this should be started,
The ridiculous speech given by the former mayor, whom he clearly didn’t write or understand as that is a no notes speech if one really knew the real issues at hand, and as ridiculous as the current mayor claiming past mufti year budget projections were not given to last year city council.
So now, looking at those results you “found” on the city computer, your plan is to put gas on fire!
The public always got exactly the same budget packet—for the past 12 years, I know of that Alders got.
Several large businesses always have copies of all the local government budgets.
They are used to make short- and long term decisions on what will or won’t be done for the investor; this would also include curtailing or closing.
The election is over, and the ignorant pot shots coming from both sides only prove why it was a close election with low voter turnout. I thought it was promised a more professional-run administration. The clown shown continues.
Once again Alderwoman Notariano shows what an elected city council member should do and that is to stand up for not just her constituents but the residents of Springfield that are getting “squeezed” by high costs. She proposed logical solutions only to be voted down by 5 alderman/woman and the mayor. Blaming previous administrations is a strong suit for Alderman Hanauer. He should look around that horseshoe and question Alderman Donelan, who served under Davlin starting in 2005 and has been on the council for 3 terms and Alderman Redpath who has served as an alderman for 7 terms. Between those two alderman (18 years and 28 years), they have been the issue with not getting projects done while raising taxes on the residents of Springfield. Now we have to pay for their poor decisions and the mayor’s promises to special interest. Sad.