Brownton City Council approves base rate increases for water, sewer

City of Brownton utility customers will see a $5 a month increase on their bills starting in January.
The City Council, at its Nov. 7 meeting, approved raising the base rate by $2.50 per month for each of the water and sewer utilities.
City Clerk-Treasurer Ella Kruse said the increases are in keeping with recommendations from the city’s financial auditor to continue building funds to help offset the costs of the city’s comprehensive street and utility improvement project, with construction anticipated to begin next summer.
John Rodeberg, engineer with Short Elliott Hendrickson (SEH), Inc., gave a brief update on the progress of the project.
Rodeberg said final plans had been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program, which is providing funding through low-interest loans and grants for the project. He expects the USDA to respond by Thanksgiving, keeping the city on track to start advertising for bids in January, with a bid opening in February.
For more from the Brownton City Council meeting, see the Nov. 15 print edition of The Chronicle.