The Oak Park Village Board approved a new five year water and sewer rate structure that will increase water bills in a tiered system where larger water consumers will end up paying a higher rate.
Out of the three alternatives that were presented, the approved rate structure is divided into two tiers billed depending on how much water was used in a quarter. Those who use up to 10,000 gallons of water quarterly will see a 2% increase in their water bills over the next five years, while consumers who use 10,000 gallons and up will see bills increase by about 6.5% annually over five years.
The board approved the rate hike 6-1 with trustee James Taglia being the only dissenting vote.
The tiered structure was put into place to incentivize people to use less water while promoting sustainability, according to Rob Sproule, Oak Park’s Public Works director.
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But Mitch Bowlin, the director of business operations for the Park District of Oak Park said the new tiers would increase costs for the Park District, and officials may have to evaluate service reductions such as reducing splash pad hours and scaling back irrigation of athletic fields and park green spaces, to manage the increased costs.
The new water and sewer rate system is meant to save water, but Bowlin said the Park District has already saved about 1.25 million gallons of water annually through recent initiatives.
Bowlin said the impact to their budget would be about $10,000 to $15,000 in the first year and “that is an amount we can’t simply absorb with our current budget constraints.”
At current usage levels, about 52% of water distributed in Oak Park goes to the higher volume consumers, according to data presented by a NewGen Strategies and Solutions consultant during the Village Board meeting on Sept. 15.
Taglia questioned the reasoning for a new rate when the formula the village had been using has worked for over 100 years.
“There could be a lot of changes in future years that could complicate this,” Taglia said. “I think it’s more complicated and it is difficult for others to try to make residents understand how this is going to affect them.”
Trustee Corey Wesley also wondered why a new alternative was up for discussion and that the method that was already being used was working, but ended up voting for the change.
Trustee Brian Straw was in favor of the new rate.
“I think having that dividing line at 10,000 gallons makes some sense because it does address that average user and it creates opportunities for savings through sustainability efforts, native plantings and through things that can ultimately save water,” Straw said. “And for most people it will mean that the rate of growth of their water bill is below inflation.”
Bowlin raised the possibility of a carve-out for public entities such as the Park District, and village President Vicki Scaman said she’d welcome a conversation about an exemption.
Taglia said though the impact of Oak Parker’s water rates wouldn’t be that much in the next year but will increase over time.
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“We work here arduously to try to help and to make things affordable when, let’s be honest, this is making it less affordable, not materially at this moment… it is making it more expensive and so we’re making it less affordable for the renters and for families that have large households that use a lot of water because they have a lot of children,” Taglia said.