Wholesaler Approved Rate Increase. What Does That Mean for Customers?
Recently, the City was notified by wholesale providers about adjustments in the cost of water, garbage, and recycling services. Des Moines Water Works is levying a $0.40 increase per 1,000 gallons of water. The Metro Waste Authority notified the City of the results of recent contract bids that adjust toter rates for garbage by $2.40 for large toters and $3.10 for small toters and recycling fees by $0.87. Please note that there is NO sewer rate adjustment planned. Sewer rates have not been adjusted since 2016 when the rate was lowered by $0.25.
Why?
The Des Moines Water Works rates are based on the cost of providing water and a cost-of-service study. Metro Waste Authority reports that an RFP was issued in September 2021 for the collection of solid waste, yard waste, and/or recycling for 20 cities and Polk County. Existing city contracts managed by Metro Waste Authority are expiring. Solid waste, recycling, and yard waste services were bid by zones, bundling communities together to reach optimal house counts for hauler efficiency and pricing. Metro Waste notes that the reason for the current increase is that the communities enjoyed long-standing contracts, in place for 10-20 years. The long-standing contracts provided many advantages and kept the regions’ rates artificially low. The new rates reflect several current factors, including labor markets, fuel rates, and equipment costs.
How Bondurant Compares?
Below is a graph comparing the average monthly utility bills of the region. The utilities that were surveyed were water, sewer, stormwater, garbage, and recycling. (Please note that Ankeny and Polk County, Rural do not provide garbage and recycling. The residents are required to set up services with a provider of their choosing and an average of $15 per month was used for the calculation.) As you can see, Bondurant is towards the middle of the group, with an average monthly bill of $94.14, which is slightly less than the overall average for the group, which is $97.08.
While this graph represents current rates and charges, proportionately as other communities also need to pass through the increases they are receiving, Bondurant is expected to remain slightly below average for monthly utility bills.
When?
The City bills for these services on monthly utility bills. Users will notice the change in their April bills.
What's next?
The City is currently pursuing a water facilities study is to determine the feasibility of producing and/or storing water to the City as much direct control over costs as possible. The City has been successful in minimizing or containing its administrative costs, which is why the adjustments you will see on your utility bills are strictly pass-through costs from wholesale providers. Staff also continually look for ways to maximize efficiency to keep rates as low as possible. There is no increase for the City of Bondurant maintenance and administration of the water distribution system or for the administration of garbage and recycling services.
For more details about the Water/Sewer Rates and Service, Codes follow this link: https://www.cityofbondurant.com/utilities-department/pages/watersewer-rates-and-service-codes