Baker City reminding residents of water rate increases
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, June 21st, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY — The City of Baker City is notifying residents of multiple water rate increases set to take effect next month. City Manager Barry Murphy announced that these changes are part of several adjustments occurring simultaneously.
“We’ve sent out a flier in this month’s billing because there are a lot of increases that ended up hitting at once during next month’s billing,” Murphy said. “I didn’t want people to be unaware.”
The adjustments include the reinstatement of the Public Safety Fee, which will appear on bills starting his month. Additionally, next month’s bill will mark the beginning of the city’s new budget year, bringing further changes.
Among the increases is the Franchise Fee, approved by the City Council earlier this year, which goes into effect in July. This fee, which applies to water and wastewater services, has increased from 5% to 7%.
The water department has also adjusted rates based on last year’s inflation rate of 4.3%, a measure approved by the Council in its recent fee resolution.
Murphy said the city has also completed its annual averaging of actual water usage.
“Since we switched to the new software system, averaging happens once a year,” Murphy explained. “The water department determines how much water a household used over the last year and adjusts the rate based on that usage. If residents used less water than last year, then rates will go down. If they used more, then rates will go up.”
Murphy says residents are encouraged to review their upcoming bills and contact the city with any questions or concerns regarding the new rates.
