By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – The Port Angeles City Council this week decided it was time to raise some utility rates as they hold steady on the rest. They approved minimal increases for water, wastewater and Medic 1 utilities, while current rates for solid waste, electricity and stormwater will remain the same at least through next year.

City Manager Nathan West says City staff and the Council understand the impacts that utility rate increases can have on their customers.

“I think, though, it’s critically important for us to focus on making sure that our rates are such that we’re able to take care of our existing City infrastructure. That we’re not deferring costs to either future years or future generations, because that could really create problems when we go to look at utility rates in the future and, ultimately, we need to be taking care of the infrastructure we have.”

So, how much is your utility bill going to go up? There are 3 categories of customers: Low, Medium and High Consumption. Most customers are in the Low Consumption category, which means your bill will go up somewhere between $10 and $16 per month.

After the Council approved the higher rates, they voted unanimously to appoint a committee to develop a policy that exempts efficient outdoor water used for food production or habitat from wastewater and CSO consumption charges.

They also voted to appoint a committee to develop a policy expanding the low-income utility assistance program so that it provides utility assistance to any customer who is housing cost burdened (meaning they pay more than 30% of their income in housing costs).