Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved proposed increases to stormwater and solid waste rates that will add an average of about $2 to residents’ monthly utility bills.
Average residential stormwater rates will increase to $7.94 from $7.38, about a 7.9% increase.
Residential solid waste rates for both single-family and multifamily homes will increase by $1.34 per month, or 6.5%.; commercial rates will increase by 12.5%, with exact costs varying by size of the trash container.
Municipal Services and Operations Director Melissa Sieben, Deputy Director Mike Lawless and Angela Buzard, general manager of administration, presented to commissioners about the rate increases.
Buzard said the department has seen significant inflation, but the department has been able to complete some projects that have really helped residents in areas that have seen flooding challenges.
Lawless noted some of those projects, which were included in the city’s 1996 stormwater master plan: East 23rd Street, which is soon to reopen; 19th Street, between O’Connell Road and Harper Street; and the area of 17th and Alabama streets.
Other projects are still in design phases, Lawless said.
The city will use about $300,000 from its fund balance in order to make the 2024 stormwater budget work, Lawless said, and about $570,000 from its fund balance for the solid waste budget.
The city has been working to make costs more equitable between residential and commercial solid waste rates, Sieben said.
Eric Weiss, economic analyst with Burns & McDonnell, has been working with the city on solid waste rate planning. Weiss said the proposed 2024 solid waste rate increase is intended to be proactive, so the city can get ahead of anticipated higher costs in the next few years consistent with the industry.
Lawless said “alley rehab” is underway, particularly in the downtown area, to improve conditions for workers. Lawless said staff members have to roll out trash enclosures and get them on the trucks in alley conditions that are not good, and that has led to some injuries.
The city is also planning to undergo solid waste master plan updates that, among other things, will look at what commercial recycling and potentially construction and demolition waste services would require and what it would take for the city to provide those services. The city will be working with Douglas County on that to address solid waste as a whole for the county, Lawless said. There will be opportunities for the public to engage in that process, Sieben said.
Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of both rate increases, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2024. See the full presentations in the meeting YouTube video.
The city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board met Monday and voted to sign a letter in support of the city creating utility payment plans so that residents experiencing financial difficulties can have options rather than risk getting their water shut off or other outcomes if they can’t pay. That item was not yet on the commission’s agenda this week, and no commissioners asked city staff members about such a program or ways to mitigate the impact of increased utility costs for residents who are financially stressed.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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