Andrey_Kuzmin
SNOHOMISH — The City Council established water and sewer rates from 2025 to 2029, voting 5-1 last week to approve significant rate increases in 2025 and 2026.
Water rates will increase by 21% next year, and 15% in 2026, before easing off with 8% increases 2027 through 2029.
Sewer rates, meanwhile, will increase 10.25% next year, and 10.25% again in 2026, before having annual 6.5% increases 2027 through 2029.
Under the changes, a homeowner’s average bimonthly city utility bill for water, sewer and stormwater is set to be $315 in 2025, and $350 in 2026 before having less steep increases in 2027 to 2029, from tables presented Sept. 3 by rate consultants. In 2027, the bill would be $375; in 2028, $402; and in 2029, $432.
The city will be evaluating stormwater rates in 2025 and likely adjusting this piece of the bill for 2026 onward.
Snohomish’s utility rates haven’t changed since 2019.
City officials said rates need to increase to pay for millions of dollars of planned projects.
“We don’t have enough money to maintain the system and do upgrades,” Public Works Director Nova Heaton said.
Heaton outlined a large list of major and minor pipeline replacements around town.
The alternative is being vulnerable to water main and sewer main breaks as parts of the system are more than 75 years old, and some 100, Heaton said.
Some council members were uneasy about the size of rate increases over the next two years. Councilmember David Flynn gave a dissenting “no” vote on approving the rates as presented.
“It’s too aggressive of an increase (in rates) on the citizens,” Flynn said. He’d prefer more gradual increases.
However, they had a take-it-or-leave-it scenario in front of them. If council members wanted to restructure the utility rate plans, the city would be bound to commission a brand-new rate study from an outside consultant, city administrator Heather Thomas said. There isn’t anyone in-house to do it.
The city paid consultant FCS Group a little under $88,000 to produce the utility rate study which mapped out the 2025-2029 rate increases.
Water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure is self-funded from utility rate income.
After holding on rates for years, “now we need to bite the bullet,” Councilwoman Karen Guzak said.
The money collected from utility bills is used for keeping the system operating and can pay down bond debts taken out to pay for system projects. The city’s financial policies disallow taking money from the general city budget to put into utilities.
