Get your water and sewer service from the county? Your rates might be going up

A public hearing on new water and sewer rates for Washington County customers is set for next week, and the proposed rates are a little higher.

Mark Bradshaw, the county's director of environmental management, and Chief Financial Officer Kelcee Mace recently told the county commissioners the rate increases are to help offset increased costs for wages, materials and equipment.

But even with the initial increase, Bradshaw said, the water fund alone would require a $176,480 subsidy from the county's General Fund in the coming fiscal year.

Mace said staff were proposing rate increases for the next three fiscal years, which would be reviewed in the rate hearing but revisited each year.

"Having rates set for multiple years will provide clear direction for the budget as well as letting ratepayers know what to expect in the upcoming years," she said.

The first set of new rates would be effective for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins July 1. Here's how they break down:

For full-service residential and volunteer service customers, the 6,000-gallon base rate would go up $6.95 per quarter, from $108.35 to $115.30. Rates per 1,000 gallons beyond base usage would increase 61 cents to $14.22.

Commercial I full-service base rates would rise by $9.47 per quarter to $117.90 per quarter, but the rate per 1,000 gallons beyond the base would remain at $12.47.

The base rate for Commercial II full-service customers would rise by $4 per quarter, to $158.55, but the rate for usage beyond the base would remain at $11.24 per gallon.

For non-metered accounts, the quarterly rate would go up by $10.61 to $200.62 per quarter.

Proposed sewer rates are also a bit higher. For residential and volunteer service customers, the base rate — again, for 6,000 gallons — would increase by $7.90 to $140.90. Usage beyond the base would be billed at $8.63 per 1,000 gallons, an increase of 49 cents.

For Commercial I customers, the proposed base rate is $146.26 per quarter, up $8.28. Usage beyond the base would be $9.60, an increase of 91 cents.

The proposed base rate for Commercial II and II customers would be $149.21 per quarter, up $8.45. For each 1,000 gallons beyond the base, the rates would be $10.18 for Commercial II, up 30 cents; and would remain the same for Commercial III customers at $6.79.

Sewer rates for non-metered accounts would rise by $10.97 to $192.68 per quarter.

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In Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027, Mace said, the recommended increase for sewer rates would be 3.5% per year. For water rates, the increase would be 5% per year.

The hearing will be conducted at 9:30 a.m. May 7 at the county's administrative building at 100 W. Washington St., Hagerstown.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: County schedules hearing on upcoming water, sewer rates