Sewer rates could double for many Prospect Heights residents

Sewer bills for most Prospect Heights residents would more than double under proposed increases designed to create a unified rate system and complete major improvements on the city's aging sewage system.

City officials and Municipal Financial Services, a Maryland-based consulting firm hired to study the sewer system, will present three proposals during a town-hall meeting Wednesday. The potential cost increases come as the city balances taking over a defunct sanitary district while maintaining a deteriorating system built about 60 years ago.

As part of Gov. Bruce Rauner's effort to reduce the number of government bodies in Illinois, state lawmakers in 2015 passed a law dissolving the Old Town Sanitary Sewer District, which served a majority of city residents and businesses.

The sanitary district did not have capital improvement funds because the rates paid only for operating and maintaining the system. The city continued charging the same rates as the sanitary district, City Administrator Joe Wade said.

"The rates were low, but they were artificially low," Wade said.

The proposals also would consolidate the city's divided system for billing customers. The city has four special service areas in addition to the residents previously served by the sanitary district. Depending on where residents live, sewer rates could either increase or decrease under the proposals.

Under the proposal with the lowest rate hike, monthly sewer bills for residents formerly served by the sanitary district would increase to $15.75 monthly from $6.50 monthly in the first year. Costs would continue to increase each year until reaching $29.50 a month in 2027.

Meanwhile, rates would generally decrease for residents in the Prospect Heights, Wolf Mandel, Country Gardens and Pinecrest special service areas. The special service areas have charged sewer rates based on property values. Residents in these areas have been paying roughly $300 a year, or about $25 monthly.

For businesses, the monthly rate would increase to $19.25 monthly from $8 monthly during the first year, with hikes yearly until the rate would be $36.25 in 2027. The recommended rates also include formulas for increasing rates at apartment complexes and other multiunit residences.

The remaining two proposals would increase sewer rates more, Wade said.

The town-hall meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Gary Morava Recreation Center, 110 W. McDonald Road.