Quick take
- A wastewater rate study presented to the Hope Board of Directors on Nov. 3 recommends raising the base charge from $13.25 to $18.02 and the usage charge from $3.50 to $4.76 per 1,000 gallons, SWARK.Today reported.
- For a customer using 6,000 gallons a month, that would take the wastewater bill from $34.25 to $46.58. Increases of about 3% a year would follow.
- The study says the wastewater fund would run out during fiscal 2027 at current rates. No vote was taken. City Manager J.R. Wilson said the rates will be part of 2027 budget materials for the board’s Nov. 17 meeting, with Jan. 1 as the target if the board moves ahead.
- The board approved moving all city employees to a high-deductible health plan for 2027 with a $500 health savings account contribution, after the city was told premiums would rise 30% on its current plan.
Hope sewer customers could see higher bills next year. A consultant told the Hope Board of Directors on Tuesday, Nov. 3, that the city’s wastewater rates don’t bring in enough money to run the system, pay its debts and build the reserves it needs, SWARK.Today reported. No vote was taken.
What the study recommends
Vita Quinn of FCS, a Bowman Consulting company, presented the study. Under its recommendation (dollar figures from SWARK.Today’s report of the presentation):
- The monthly base charge would go from $13.25 to $18.02.
- The usage charge would go from $3.50 to $4.76 per 1,000 gallons.
- For a customer using 6,000 gallons a month, the wastewater bill would go from $34.25 to $46.58, about $12 more.
- After that first increase, rates would rise about 3% a year.
The study projects that at current rates, the wastewater fund would drop below its reserve target and run out during fiscal 2027. It also calls for a new repair and replacement reserve funded with at least 5% of wastewater revenue, which the study says Arkansas law requires, and for slowly building the operating reserve from six months to 12 months of expenses. Annual debt payments on the system are approaching $1 million, SWARK.Today reported.
City Manager J.R. Wilson said the city had known for years that wastewater revenue wasn’t keeping up. The last series of increases ended in 2024, and this is the first professional rate study the city has ordered, he said. Wilson also said the city has lost wastewater customers over the past decade.
What happens next
Wilson said the proposed rates will be included in the 2027 budget materials for the board’s Nov. 17 meeting. If the board moves ahead, the city would draft an ordinance, with Jan. 1 as the target date if the timing works, SWARK.Today reported. Hope Prescott also reported that staff need the board’s direction on rates before the 2027 budget is final.
Health plan for city workers
The board did vote on employee health insurance. The city was told its premiums would go up 30% in 2027 if it kept the same coverage. Directors approved, without opposition, moving all city employees to a high deductible plan, with the city putting $500 into each worker’s health savings account in January. Individual coverage stays free to employees, and family coverage would cost $66.24 a week, SWARK.Today reported. City staff estimated the change keeps the city’s cost increase to about 11%.
Other business
- Bid opening for the Hope Fire Department project was moved to Nov. 13, with results going to the board Nov. 17, Wilson said.
- Directors Mark Ross and Linda Clark both won reelection the same night, in Wards 1 and 4.