The Odessa City Council is expected to vote Tuesday night on the FY22-23 budget and they’ll also consider increasing the city’s water, sewer and solid waste rates.
City staff has recommended a 6% increase in water/sewer rates and a 3.5% increase in solid waste rates.
Cindy Muncy, assistant city manager of administrative services, told the council last week the increased water rate change will help cover the rising cost of equipment, debt service, repairs and replacement. The city normally increases the rates by 2.5%, but the additional 3.5% will pay half of the city’s new debt service payment for the upgrades to the water treatment plant.
A resident who uses 5,000 gallons of water will see their monthly bill increase $2.18, Muncy said. A customer who uses 5,000 gallons of water will see a $1.32 increase in their monthly sewer bill and that money will help cover the cost of sewer line replacements, she said.
Over the last couple of years, the city has increased solid waste rates by 2.5%, but this year the staff is proposing a 3.5% increase because fuel and tipping fees have increased so much, Muncy said.
A single family residence will experience a monthly increase of 75 cents, she said.
The council will also discuss declaring the unopposed candidates for District 3 and District 4 as newly elected officials.
Council members Mari Willis, Detra White and Tom Sprawls are not running for re-election in November.
Gilbert Vasquez, who spent more than 30 years as an administrator within the Ector County Independent School District, is the only candidate seeking to replace White in District 3 and Greg Connell was the only candidate who sought to replace Sprawls in District 4.
Chris Hanie and Shaye Lane will be running against each other for the District 5 position.
