(Okoboji)– The Okoboji City Council Tuesday evening approved an adjustment in water rates. City Administrator Michael Meyers says it will only impact those who use larger quantities of water…
“The way that we bill in the city of Okoboji is that there’s a minimum amount of $119 per quarter, we bill quarterly, and then that allows you 10,000 gallons of water in that given quarter. In the event you use more than 10,000 gallons, previously there was a $7.95 per thousand charge of overage fee. The action taken tonight leaves the $119 the same but changes that $7.95 to now $9.20 which will be effective July 1 of 2023.”
Meyers says the adjustment was needed not only to meet higher costs from Central Water System to address an increase in treatment cost, but also to cover increases on the city’s operation of the distribution system…
“And so in that fund not only is the water that we purchase but we also have a water superintendent, administrative water staff, wages, health insurance, FICA, IPERS, all of those things go into it. Not only that but we maintain the distribution throughout the entire city of Okoboji that requires 24/7 365 maintenance. So all of those factors come into play when we look at our water rates to make sure that our water fund is breaking even.”
The council approved the first reading of the revised rate and waived the 2nd and 3rd readings to grant final approval. The vote wasn’t unanimous, though. Councilman Dan Sanders cast the lone dissenting vote on both motions, saying he preferred having separate readings to give a chance for any additional public input. There were no comments during a public hearing at Tuesday evening’s meeting prior to the council’s action.
