Minnetonka residents better brace for a hit to their wallets as the city council gives the green light to uptick utility rates across the board starting 2024. In the spirit of averting financial disaster, the city is swapping out old pipes and systems with newer, less calamity-prone infrastructure. A move that, according to finance director Darin Nelson, is to “reduce the risk of catastrophic breaks and backups that can cost the city and ratepayers much more in the long run.”
Breaking it down, folks are looking at a 3.75 percent hike in the water variable rate coupled with that fixed infrastructure fee to match, and let's not forget sanitary sewer rates, they're going for a wild ride up 11 percent, Nelson shared the details behind these increases emphasizing the city's meticulous planning and its ambition to dodge future financial bullets. Stormwater setup is due for a 3 percent increase, with the reasoning being these fees will bolster the city's stormwater coffers post a slew of street overhauls carried out from 2021 to 2023. If that weren't enough, throw in a 4 percent jump for environmental recycling fees set to keep pace with a climbing city recycling contract and the ever-growing brush and yard waste disposal tolls.
A hand-me-down cost from Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) – the region's sewer treatment bigwig, even as sewer flow rates dwindle thanks to water-thrifty appliances and a rising tide of conservation, the price tag on treatment keeps bloating. The hike in storm fees is an attempt to restore the city’s stormwater fund which dwindled after intense street reconstruction undertakings that ran between 2021 and 2023, but it's not just about rebuilding what's spent, it's a strategic move to steel the city against future fiscal storms.
When all's said and done, Minnetonka households that brown-nose the low to average water usage line can expect their quarterly bills to bounce up by $9.10 to $12.30. For residents, it's a bittersweet pill, coughing up more now could very well spare their bank accounts a gut-punch in the unforeseen future, as hinted by the city's methodical planning—this according to the blueprint set in stone back in 2020. A new vendor poised to deal with disposal is also on the horizon, likely easing some of the financial burden.
