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Ely council members have finalized a rate increase sought by the Ely Utilities Commission.
In a unanimous vote, the council approved a resolution to raise rates for water, sewer and electricity.
The average residential customer would pay about $12 a month more for utilities, according to information presented at a public hearing last month.
The council first authorized the rate hike at that March 18 session and finalized it with the resolution approved Tuesday.
The bulk of the increase comes in the water utility, with the EUC set to enact a $6.25 monthly increase in the fixed fee and another 15 cents per 100 cubic feet hike for usage. That adjustment would add another 80 cents per month for the average residential account.
Also approved was a $1 per month increase in the sewer fixed fee and 15 cents per 100 cubic feet for usage, as well as a 50 cent hike in the monthly electric base fee and another $.0035 cents per kilowatt hour.
Once the various increases are combined, the average residential customer will see a monthly rate increase of $11.83.
Rates were not increased in 2023 or 2024 and only water and sewer went up - at a fixed rate of $1.50 per month - in 2022.
While approval came without discussion Tuesday, the issue generated debate when first presented.
Both council member Al Forsman, who serves as the group’s liaison to the EUC, and EUC member Rob Wilmunen made the case for the rate increases last month.
Forsman added that he believed the increases were justified to “maintain the infrastructure that provides these services to every home.”
Wilmunen said the larger increase in the water utility was required in order for the city to qualify for public facilities loan funds for utility projects.
New debt service related to the wastewater treatment plant called for what Wilmunen termed a “moderate increase” in the sewer rates, with the first hike in three years.
The EUC has a wide range of electricity customers, ranking from residential to different areas of commercial including those with high demand.
The average residential customer will see a $2.95 increase in monthly rates, thanks to the fixed fee and usage hikes, while high demand customers are set get a $33 per month rate in their fixed fee, which will be partially offset by a reduction in demand and usage charges.
Smaller commercial customers are set to see an average increase of 3.4 percent or $2.95 a month.
