City to Consider Sewer Rate Increase

Savvy money management is apparently behind La Crosse’s extremely low sewer rates.  That’s according to a consultant’s report that the city’s board of public works will consider today while deciding whether the utility should be allowed to raise rates by around ten percent. The report says the city’s rates are the lowest in the state and paying cash for improvements gets a large part of the credit for that.  But that also means that a rate increase is likely needed to keep up with an increase in sewage and a decrease in wastewater utility customers.  The city had approved a three-year annual rate increase of around nine percent in 2010 but then opted out of the last two years of increases.