The Hopkins City Council, at its regular meeting Monday, raised its water rates by 3% for 12 months. After that time frame, they will revisit the issue and see if any more increases are needed. The vote was unanimous.
The last time the city raised rates was in 2019, and the last time before that, in 2016. The city has the same amount of customers, but water usage has gone down, while costs have gone up. Consequently, the water department made a profit of $51 last year. There are around 280 water customers, and there were 11,872,000 gallons used last year.
The rate went up to $24/month minimum for commercial customers, and $33.99 for residential customers. The rate is for the first 1,000 gallons. Water usage varies widely by customer, with some using as little as 900 gallons a month and some using as much as 35,000. The average water usage is around 3,500 gallons a month. Sewer costs 70% of the water bill.
The cost for the city to produce its own water was $62,000 last year, whereas the cost for it to buy it from the Rural Water District would have been $99,000.
The estimated annual revenue increase for the city was $4,550.52 with a 3% increase. Had the city increased rates 5%, it would have been an estimated $7,319.28. Had the city increased rates 10%, it would have increased revenues an estimated $14,162.76.
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