St. Charles residents to see utility rate hike

St. Charles aldermen are looking to increase water, sewage and electricity bills for all the city's customers.

Aldermen, meeting as the government services committee Monday, recommended the changes. The city council will vote on them May 4.

The new rates will take effect on the June bills.

The monthly customer charge for water will increase 9.9 percent per 1,000 gallons for users with a three-quarter-inch service line (the smallest), to $7.29. The base rate will go up 10 percent, to $3.06, and the seasonal excess-use charge will increase 9.9 percent, to $5.18.

Sewage service will be pricier, too. The monthly residential customer charge is increasing 11.9 percent, to $15.79 a month. And customers will pay 7.3 percent more, or $4.79, for each 1,000 gallons.

As for electricity, the residential monthly customer charge will rise 11.3 percent, to $16.70. The summer kilowatt-hour charge for residential use will increase 3.1 percent for electricity up to 1,200 kWh, and 2 percent for those in excess.

The winter rate was set at 11.2 cents per kWh, a price hike of 6.6 percent.

Aldermen asked no questions about the increases. The new numbers were included in calculations for the city's 2015-16 budget, which the council discussed in March and approved April 6.

St. Charles has increased utility rates annually the last five years, after a 2011 rate study recommended doing so to eliminate deficits in the operations portions of the utility funds.

The city included money in the budget for a new rate study.