Othello sewer rates to increase

OTHELLO — Othello residents will see their sewer rates increase by one-half of one percent each year over the next three years. The rates became part of a discussion of current and future needs during the Othello City Council meeting Nov. 12. 

The rate for 2025 will be $65.42 per month for a single-family residence in the city limits. Owners of a single-tenant commercial building will pay $65.42 for the first 1,000 cubic feet of wastewater, and $2.64 for every 100 cubic feet of water in excess of that. 

The first tenant in a commercial building with multiple occupants will pay $65.42 for the first 1,000 cubic feet of wastewater; additional tenants will pay $54.74 for the first 1,000 cubic feet. Wastewater use in excess of 1,000 cubic feet in a multi-tenant building will pay $2.64 per 100 cubic feet of additional use.  

The city will need a new wastewater treatment facility, and Finance Officer Spencer Willaims said the rate increases will help save money for that project. 

The city’s total wastewater treatment fund is projected to be about $11.47 million at the end of 2025 – and while that’s a healthy balance, Williams said, a new sewer treatment facility will cost a lot more than that. Mayor Shawn Logan estimated a new treatment facility will be needed in three to five years.  

“More than likely when we do pay for (a new sewer treatment facility), it’ll be a mix of these funds here, grant-funded, and then loan-funded. It’ll be a mix of all those,” Williams said. 

The more money the city can contribute, the less money the city will have to borrow, he said. 

Council member Denae Valdez said she originally was skeptical of a rate increase, but that the need to save money for a new treatment facility changed her mind.  

“We knew we wanted the impact to be as minimal as possible to the citizens, but we also needed to think about what was coming in the future,” she said.  

Valdez said she thought the recommended increases provided a good balance between a reasonable rate increase now while still allowing the city to save money for a new treatment facility. Council member Corey Everett estimated the rate increase would allow the city to add $100,000 per year to the reserve fund. 

Council member John Lallas noted that the sewer operation fund is projected to run a deficit in 2025, and did finish in the red in 2022. In light of that, he said, the council must be cautious when approving other capital projects that draw on the sewer fund. 

“If we’re looking at raising sewer rates and justifying it by building a fund to pay for a new (wastewater) treatment facility, then we don’t want to do what we did in 2022 and go negative,” Lallas said. 

If the city is using that money to pay for other expenses, council members are, in his opinion, misleading city residents. He suggested setting a savings target for each year. 

Council member Genna Dorow said the deficits reflect upgrades to the sewer system. Williams said those upgrades should be completed by 2027.