Community members can offer testimony on proposed rates for city water and sewer service, and a proposed new rate structure, during a public hearing Monday, Nov. 1.
The proposed rates and new rate structure are scheduled to be introduced on Monday, Nov. 8. A vote on the rates and rate structure is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 15. The Mayor and Council are scheduled to meet at 7 each night.
Find the proposed rate structure, which creates three customer classes based on the cost of water and sewer service, at www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/43148.
To testify at the public hearing, call 240-314-8280 by 10 a.m. Nov. 1, or submit testimony in writing to mayorcouncil@rockvillemd.gov or Mayor and Council, City Hall, 111 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850.
The Mayor and Council on Oct. 4 directed city staff to use $1.2 million of the $9.6 million the city received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act toward aiding customers in paying past-due utility bills. The aid will apply to bills issued by the city from March 2020-September 2021.
Water and sewer rates will remain the same through Fiscal Year 2022, which ends June 30, after the Mayor and Council also directed staff to apply nearly $2.7 million in ARPA funds toward water infrastructure improvements. This will also help provide a weighted annual rate increase of just 2.1% for FY 2023 and FY 2024.
Video of the Oct. 4 discussion is available at www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter, where staff reports will be posted with the agendas a few days before the November meetings.