Council approves sewer and refuse rate increases

At its regular meeting on Thursday, the Sierra Vista City Council approved sewer and refuse rate increases to cover the cost of maintenance and operation of those services.

At the Council work session on March 22, City staff gave a presentation on the financial status of the Sewer and Refuse Funds, and recommended a 15% sewer rate increase, a 2.25 times sewer connection fee increase, and a 10% residential refuse rate increase effective July 1, 2025, and an additional sewer rate increase of 15% and refuse rate increase of 10% effective July 1, 2026.

The Sewer and Refuse Funds are run as Enterprise Funds, meaning that the costs of running those services need to be paid by the fees collected for those services and not through other City funds. Due to upcoming maintenance and expansion costs at the sewer plant, projected sewer line replacement costs, and increasing operational costs, sewer rates need to be increased to account for those costs and to bring the sewer fund up from a negative balance.

Increased costs for the maintenance and replacement of refuse trucks, plus increased operational costs, also make it necessary to increase fees for refuse service. Financial information on the Sewer and Refuse Funds is available on the City’s website.

In other business:

• Council approved a transfer of funds from the Capital Improvements Fund to the Police and Fire Development Fee Funds, the Park Development Fee Fund to the Capital Improvements Fund, and the Infrastructure Development Fee Fund to the Highway User Revenue Fund.

• Council approved an indefinite suspension on the collection of development fees.

• Council approved a Series 12 Liquor License for Jimmy Balenzuela for Piccola Casa Italiana and PCI Pasta at the Mall at Sierra Vista.