Raleigh's water rates have been going up for years. Some city leaders are pushing back.

Residents here have seen increases in water and sewer rates for nearly a decade, and now some Raleigh leaders aren't ready to sign off on another fee hike.

City staff are recommending a 3 percent increase in the water and sewer rate for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. That would cost the average residential customer an additional $1.68 per month, bringing the monthly utility bill from $56.10 to $57.78.

The water and sewer rates are set during the city's annual budgeting process. City Manager Ruffin Hall will present his recommended budget in May, and the City Council is expected to approve it by June 30. If the council decides against increasing the water and sewer rates, the utilities department will likely have to defer or eliminate planned infrastructure and capital projects.

Those improvements aren't "wish list" items, said Robert Massengill, Raleigh's public utilities director.

"Addressing our asset management needs, primarily our aging pipes, is a costly, long-term initiative to avoid failures in our water and sewer system," he said. "We are proposing to make minor annual rate adjustments along the way, rather than be faced with double-digit increases in the future, which will become necessary over time if we ignore the system needs."

Staff say Raleigh could put in place a 3.2 percent rate increase each year moving forward to help address the city's aging pipes, some of which were laid in the 1860s.

Steady increases can become a burden to residents over time, said council member David Cox.

"If it is a big problem, we need the details to understand what the funding options are," Cox said. "Maybe we need to look into a bond to address some of these problems instead of a rate increase."

But bond money isn't free money, said Mayor Nancy McFarlane, adding that taxpayers would still have to foot the bill. While rate increases can strain families' budgets, the city can't afford to "get back into that pattern of not staying on top of things," she said.

Council members asked staff to bring the item back before the board with more information about funding options to possibly avoid a rate increase.

The proposed rate would still be less than the rate in Cary, High Point and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, which provides water to most of Orange County. Raleigh's current average residential monthly bill is more than in Greensboro, Durham and Charlotte.

Other fees

The City Council is also considering some other possible fee changes:

▪ Tickets for the carousel, train and "kiddie" boats at John Chavis Memorial and Pullen parks could increase from $1 to $1.50;

▪ Fees could be put in place for the Walnut Creek Softball Complex and the renovated Moore Square for those who want to reserve volleyball courts, tennis courts and picnic shelters.

Fees would stay the same for stormwater management, trash and recycling service and parking enterprise funds.

This story was originally published March 19, 2018 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Raleigh's water rates have been going up for years. Some city leaders are pushing back.."