Warrenton’s Board of Aldermen considered increases to the city’s water and sewer fees during its June 2 public meeting.

The city’s water and sewer rates would both increase by 4 percent under the proposal, said city finance officer Dana Belaska. The rate increases will go to a final vote by the Board of Aldermen July 7.

For the average resident in Warrenton, that would mean an increase of about 86 cents per month for water, and 96 cents per month for sewer, Belaska said.

Currently, residents within the city limits pay a combined average of about $46 per month for water and sewer, Belaska said. That average would go up to almost $48 per month after the rate change.

Belaska said the average charge for residential customers is based on a usage of 4,000 gallons per month, but that individual fees vary if their use is higher or lower.

Commercial sites inside city limits will see their payments go up by an average of $3.45 per month for water and $3.16 per month for sewer, Belaska said.

The current average for commercial customers is a combined monthly payment of about $162 for water and sewer. That would grow to $169 per month after the rate change.

The 4-percent rate increase matches previous annual increases that have been approved each year since 2017, Belaska said.

Customers who are located outside the Warrenton city limits pay a higher rate for water and sewer service. Payments for residents outside the city will increase by an average of $4.16, to a combined $106.41 per month for water and sewer, Belaska said.

For commercial customers outside the city, average payments will increase $13.19 per month, for a total average of $344.54 for water and sewer.

Belaska said the fee increases are partly related to the repayment of bonds to improve the city’s sewer system, as well as the increasing cost to operate and maintain the water and sewer systems.

Voters approved a $15.5 million bond issue in 2014 to expand and upgrade the city’s sewer system. Warrenton has been using the bond funds to install larger wastewater lines from the south side of Interstate 70 out to the city’s wastewater treatment plant on Willow Road, as well as installing or replacing wastewater systems.

Ward 2 Alderman Gary Auch commented that the board prefers to keep up with the cost of operating the utilities by annually adding a small increase to user fees.

“Some of the increase is part of the bond package that was approved so that we could do improvements in the water system and the sewer system, going north of town to the (sewer treatment) plant,” Auch explained. “We do periodic, small increases on a consistent basis. That means we don’t have to come along at some point in time and do an extremely large increase.”