McHenry residents will see bump in water, sewer bills

In July 2023, the McHenry City Council raised the residential sewer rate by 17 cents, but lowered the residential water rate by the same amount, resulting in no increase in that overall bill rate for residents.

On Monday, the council approved increases in both rates on a 5-2 vote, with council members Frank McClatchey, 3rd Ward, and Chris Bassi, 4th Ward, voting no.

The increase brings up the per-100-gallon fee up by 5% for both bills, but does not mean water and sewer bills will increase by that amount, Carolyn Lynch, McHenry finance director, said.

“It sounds like a lot, but it used to be $3.65. Now it will be $3.83 per 1,000 gallons” of water used each month for residential users, Lynch said – an 18-cent increase.

“The nitty-gritty of it is if you use 3,000 gallons a month, your bill would go up by $7.20 more annually,” Lynch said.

With the higher fee, the revenue in the water department’s operating fund is expected to top $2.6 million, Lynch said in her report to the council. The 2024-25 budget assumes operational expenses of $2.57 million.

On the sewer side, the residential rate is set to increase from $4.37 to $4.59 per 1,000 gallons, a 22-cent increase, bringing a new total revenue estimate of about $3.6 million, slightly above the anticipated operating costs for 2024-25.

The increase was needed because of additional costs to the city, Lynch said.

“It is based off the cost of living [increases] for personnel and inflation with supplies and materials” for the systems, Lynch said.

There is about $10 million in the water and sewer fund balance, but those funds are set aside for future needed expansions or ongoing repairs, Lynch added, including $3 million for debt service, $4.4 million stockpiled for future expansion.

“That is reserved for if we need to expand the system and can be only used for that ... if the system needs to be larger,” Lynch said.

The remaining balance goes toward other capital, not operational needs, like relining sewers or fixing water line breaks, Lynch said.

Before his vote in favor of the increase, Alderman Andy Glab, 2nd Ward, said reassessing the rates happens regularly.

“Staff every year goes through … what cost of operations is on the water and sewer fund. They have never been off that much. If they are OK for the 5 percent, I have to go along with it,” Glab said.