Peoria Standard

The Hanna City, Illinois, Village Board recently discussed potential solutions to rising water prices.

Board Trustee, Ryan Pierson, introduced the discussion to the board during their Jan. 3 meeting so they could decide on 2023 rates, according to a video of the meeting posted to the board’s YouTube page.

While the board saw a small increase in their operational rates, the village was informed by the Illinois Commerce Commission that water rates for statewide customers would drastically increase, some by as much as 65%, according to comments made during the meeting.

Hanna City also experienced a rate increase in 2022. The rate increase, which went into effect Jan. 1, was due to statewide infrastructure improvements and replacements. Village staff estimated how the increase would affect them based on the city’s prior water usage and said they would experience an increase of about $135,000 in their annual water budget, which averages out to $11,300 each month.

Village officials discussed how to make the rate increase tolerable for residents and shared several options. One option the board discussed was raising the rate to match the increase put on the city on May 1, which will cost the city up to $40,000. Another option was raising the rate in half steps throughout 2023 and 2024, which will cost the village approximately $100,000. Matching the rate increase completely would raise the monthly minimum water bill by $11 from $27 to $38.

The Village ultimately decided to absorb the increase for January and February, officially raising the rate from March 1 through the rest of the year, according to the video. The board said the increase would be displayed on bills received in April through December. The move will cost the village approximately $20,000.

The new rates will be $38.50 per month for those within Hanna City's corporate limits and $67.50 per month for the first 2,000 gallons of water used by people outside the village. The Board reminded citizens that, while they understand increases are still generally unwelcome, the city’s rates are still in line with those of surrounding communities, and that not increasing rates would result in a large deficit for the village and prevent the city from maintaining their water infrastructure and negatively impact its ability to provide services to residents in the future.

"We already knew we were going to have a raise anyway for the cost of living," said Board Trustee, Caleb Johnson. "And we can't really put a pin in that and keep ourselves a viable [water infrastructure]. We have to pass along what they're raising for everybody under their umbrella and still maintain our cost of living increase, whatever you want to call it, our yearly increase to start covering capital to do [improvements on our own] infrastructure.”