Residents of Kitsap County could see another increase in their sewer utility bill starting in January as officials say inflation continues to drive up costs across the board.
A public hearing is scheduled Nov. 14 by the Board of County Commissioners in Port Orchard to discuss a proposed 4.5 percent increase on monthly sewer rates. Officials from Kitsap County Public Works said the increase is “considerably below” the current 7 percent to 9 percent increase in inflation and will help keep rate hikes lower, putting less of an impact on customers over time.
Stella Vakarcs, division manager of the sewer utility, presented the case for an increase at the Oct. 5 Central Kitsap Community Council meeting, where she said rising costs are no surprise to anyone.
“Supplies, salaries, everything has gone up,” she said. “Everyone is familiar with what’s been going on in the economy.”
The current rate for a single-family residential home sits at $88.27 per month, but if the increase is approved, that rate would jump to $92.24. A similar increase would be seen in a multi-family residential home from $70.35 to $73.52.
What is also driving up costs is how the sewer utility in Kitsap is funded — solely by the ratepayers, with around 90 percent of utility revenue coming from monthly service fees.
Vakarcs highlighted the different increases in each aspect of the $55.7 million budget for 2023 that the new rate would address, including a 9.5 percent increase in operations and a 5.2 percent increase in collections and maintenance. Engineering and administration saw a much higher increase at 17.4 percent.
While recognizing the burden of another increase in monthly expenses for Kitsap residents, Vakarcs said staff has a goal to always make the money spent by their customers worth it. “One of our main goals for the sewer utility is to make sure we give the best value to our customers that provide us the revenue,” she said. “We’re always looking at how we can do better.”
Some of that value is expected to come from a $10 million grant in partnership with the Department of Defense to help fund a pipeline replacement project from the Bangor Base to the Central Kitsap Treatment Plant after it was determined that an 18- to 30-inch pipe had “totally corroded on us and has failed.”
The grant is expected to cover almost half of the $22 million project, a large portion of the planned spending in capital projects for 2023. “Grants are very hard to come by,” Vakarcs said. “But this was an opportunity we were able to get, and we’re very fortunate because this involves the Bangor base and the Keyport base.”
