The cost of water for Fayette customers went up again and will increase by at least 5% every year hereafter. Fayette’s Board of Aldermen voted for a $1 increase per 1,000 gallons of water during its final meeting of 2023 on Dec. 26. The ordinance also includes an automatic 5% raise every year, starting on Jan. 1, 2024.

Water rates last rose by one dollar in Feb. 2023 to $10.23 per 1,000 gallons, increasing the average monthly bill by about $7. Starting on Jan. 1, the cost of water rose to $11.23 per 1,000 gallons.

The latest increase is in direct response to higher costs passed down by the Howard County Regional Water Commission, which supplies water to Fayette, New Franklin, and rural customers.

“They are very likely going to raise it an additional 24 cents in March. So, you’ll see in the ordinance for discussion and/or approval, the recommendation to raise it a dollar so you don’t have to come back in February or March and raise it again,” Assistant to the Mayor Mike Dimond explained to the council.

The city received warnings about cost increases in September. The commission was mandated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to build a second clear well at a cost of around $1.15 million to mitigate risks to clean drinking water. If the lone clear well were to fail, water customers would be on a boil order for at least two weeks while the well is brought back online.

The council voted to approve the engineering report and the issuance of revenue bonds by the commission to pay for the project during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

The annual debt service to cover those bonds will be around $87,000. Fayette is the largest customer in the water district and is required to cover 55% of that debt service, which totals more than $48,000.

Dashayla Bush manages the city’s utility office and represents Fayette as one of three voting members on the water commission. In a report to the council, she explained that on Dec. 14, the commission voted to increase water rates to cities by 51 cents, from $6.50 to $7.01 per 1,000 gallons effective Jan. 1. The water board expects to raise rates again in March an additional 24 cents to avoid another rate increase later in the year, the report stated.

The increase comes on the heels of a boil order that began at 10 p.m. on Dec. 22 and expired at 11 a.m. on Dec. 24. The commission said the boil order was due to a leak in a line.

The ordinance passed by the council last week also includes a provision that will increase water rates by 5% every year starting on Jan. 1. 

“The problem with cities tends to be that they kick the can down the road and don’t increase when they need to,” explained Fayette city attorney Nathan Nickolaus. “And so, then you have a big increase years down the road. By doing five percent a year, with inflation being what it is, should keep you up with the water increases, even with increases coming out of the joint water system in the foreseeable future.”

Most cities build in a yearly 3% increase, Nickolaus said. But hikes by the water commission usually add up to more, which is why the annual 5% raises were included in the ordinance.

The city council meets regularly at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month in City Hall. Meetings are open, agendas are published in advance, and the public is invited.