The Mitchell City Council on Monday night approved an increase in sewer rates. The base increase will be from $20.01 to $22.01 per month, while the per unit charge increases from $3.11 per unit to $3.40 per unit. The projects being funded are Sanborn Phase II, east central drainage, Dailey Drive Lift Station, a new wastewater treatment plant, and for the Livesay Project.
“Everything needs to be replaced and repaired over time, and we’re to the point where we had a lot of pipe that needed to be replaced underground,” Ellwein said. “It’s extremely costly to repair and replace.” She added that if increases had been implemented more gradually through the years, the increases would have been around 5 percent annually. The council hopes for more gradual rate increases in the future.
The rate increases are set to take effect on September 1st.