Water is getting more expensive in Skokie.
The price of water in the village is going up to help pay for nearly $17 million in capital improvements to the village’s water supply infrastructure over the next three years. More water rate increases could also be coming in the years ahead, said Finance Director Julian Prendi.
At the same time, the village is also introducing a new monthly $8.75 refuse service fee, which will be charged to residents’ monthly utility bills starting Nov. 1. The Skokie Village Board voted unanimously in favor of the 7.5% water rate increase and the new refuse fee during its regular meeting Aug. 2.
Prendi said the village looked at its water infrastructure spending needs for the next three years and in 2022 alone, there is $6.7 million in capital needs and total planned spending of $16 million. To cover 2022 spending, a 19.1% increase would have been necessary. To avoid that, the village “smoothed the rate increase” over three years, he said.
Fiscal year 2022 will operate at a $1.9 million deficit, which is expected be covered by projected revenue in 2023 and 2024, Prendi said.
The biggest cost drivers in the water fund over the past decade have been personnel and capital, said Prendi, adding that more water rate increases may be coming in the years ahead.
“Rate increases will likely be needed as we continue to invest in our aging water infrastructure,” he said. “As mentioned, the current three-year spending plan smoothed out rate increases to keep them as low as possible.”
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Skokie residents and businesses consume about 2.75 billion gallons of water annually, officials said.
Earlier this year, Skokie lawmakers signed off on implementing smart water technology that could save the village more than 150 million gallons of water and hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by allowing it to continuously monitor for leaks in its water mains.
The first year cost to Skokie for the new system is $94,000, then about $166,000 a year over the five-year plan, said officials. Skokie is only one of a handful of communities in the country to enter into a partnership with Aquify, an Exelon Company, to implement the “responsive analytics monitoring system” to address leaks in real time, officials said.
The COVID-19 pandemic is one factor contributing to the need for the new $8.75 refuse fee, village officials said. Skokie now collects $7.6 million less in sales tax than it did at its peak several years ago. Since the pandemic began, the village’s operating budget has experienced deficits totaling nearly $7 million dollars, officials said.
Skokie has avoided significant rate and fee increases in recent years but due to revenue losses caused by COVID-19, officials say they had to look for new ways to generate revenue for village services.
Free refuse service is very rare in communities across the country, and since the start of the pandemic the cost to provide refuse services has increased by double digits. Officials have said the new $8.75 monthly fee is still one of the lowest rates among area communities.
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.