PUC board approve water and sewer rate increases for 2024
The Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC) resumed budget and rate discussions regarding water and sewer during the Dec. 6 meeting.
At the start of the meeting, City Administrator Mike Roth recommended a 3 percent rate increase for 2024 to the PUC board.
Based on an in-depth look and assessment of historical and current water usage trends, Roth said water sales have consistently trended downward since the 1980s. Given the relatively stable population since the 1980s, Roth said he attributes the decline to more efficient appliances and fixtures.
“Our water and sewer funds are based on water sales,” Roth said. “So this is how we derive all the estimates about how many gallons we’re going to sell and what we need to charge for rates in order to collect enough money to pay for our operations.”
The 3 percent increase will allow the water fund to continue covering system repairs and improvements and position the fund to contribute to future City projects. The 2024 water fund budget totals $493,507.
Between 2014 and 2018, the PUC board made a 2 percent increase to water rates, then no change in rates between 2019 and 2022, and in 2023, the board approved a 3 percent increase.
Given the recent efforts for housing development and expanded commercial activity within city limits, Roth said he expects the number of gallons the PUC will sell in a year to increase. “I actually think in the next five years, I would see this number start to grow again just based on the number of apartment buildings that we’re talking about adding.”
The PUC board unanimously approved a 3 percent increase for the water fund in 2024. The increase includes the base rate and per gallon charge.
The PUC board also discussed increased sewer rates during the Dec. 6 meeting. Roth recommended a 2 percent increase in sewer rates for 2024 to the board. The rate increase will cover increased expenses and designate funds for future projects and improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.
Capital improvement plans to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant have been ongoing for years. Most recently, an engineering firm, AE2S, based in Duluth, presented a wastewater treatment facility renewal plan during a March 1 PUC meeting. The identified cost for facility improvements at that time was $8.95 million.
While receiving grants to complete the project will alleviate the cost to PUC customers, Roth said during the Dec. 6 meeting, “We need to make sure we’re always making progress to have the ability to pay for that because we don’t know how much of that we’ll have to pay for that ourselves.”
The PUC board unanimously approved a 2 percent increase for the sewer fund in 2024. The increase includes the base rate and per gallon charge.
The PUC board also approved a 2 percent increase in 2024 electric rates during the previous Nov. 1 meeting.
Find the Dec. 6 Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission meeting agenda here.
Kalli Hawkins December 10, 2023
