Water rates will increase next year for customers of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission after the board unanimously approved the utility’s budget for fiscal year 2022-23.
The cost of electricity would not change next year, according to the budget.
The budget was approved in a meeting Wednesday.
“It was a formality,” utility spokeswoman Carolyn Justice-Hinson said after the meeting.
As first presented on May 11, the budget outlines outlays of about $397.5 million, which will be a 10.9% reduction from 2022 spending.
In 2020, the commission voted to delay water rate increases because of the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those higher rates will take effect for 2023, PWC officials have said.
Justice-Hinson has said the new water rates will vary because they depend on the customer’s location and water usage.
The budget supports the financial health of PWC, keeps borrowing costs low and affords a bigger slice of revenue for the city of Fayetteville, PWC said. The city would receive roughly $24 million from PWC in cash and services. Payments in lieu of taxes would increase to $12.4 million in cash – more than $1 million a month, Justice-Hinson said.
That rounds out to a 4.7% increase for the city.
Michael Futch covers Fayetteville and education for CityView TODAY. He can be reached at mfutch@cityviewnc.com. Have a news tip? Email news@CityViewTODAY.com.
