SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane is expected to raise rates on utilities and switch to collecting recycling every other week starting in 2021 through 2023.
The proposed rate increase for water, wastewater and solid waste services is 2.9% yearly, according to a press release from Spokane Public Works Spokesperson Marlene Feist.
The proposal also includes changes that would reward customers for lower water use, Feist said.
The proposal suggests switching to recycling collection every other week to manage the rising costs of recycling, according to Feist. A date for when this change will start will be announced later. Rates would change Jan. 1 of each year.
Feist said the typical customer’s utility bill would increase by $1.67 a month because of newly designed rate tiers for water use that are part of the proposal. The proposal would also reduce charged for many water users much of the year.
With the changes, Feist said 90% of customers would have the same or lower bills for at least six months of the year and half wouldn’t pay more during summer irrigation season. The median increase for residential customers would be $11 total over the three summer months, according to Feist. She said customers should expect a typical monthly bill to go up less than $4 in the later years of 2022 and 2023.
The rate increases will cover the cost of new wastewater infrastructure that has been constructed in the last several years, Feist said.
Spokane City Council approved the solid waste proposals earlier this week and are expected to vote on the water and wastewater proposals at their Nov. 9 meeting at 6 p.m.
