Hearing set for sewer rate increase

Libby City Council set aside Jan. 21 for a public hearing on proposed sewer rate increases.

In a unanimous vote Dec. 16, city councilors put the first sewer rate increase since 2011 before residents. The cost hike, first proposed in front of the full council in late November, came at the behest of the city’s water and sewer committee.

Under the proposal, the monthly flat rate for users will rise from $26.63 to $29.75. The base rate will increase four percent annually between 2021 and 2025, with city council given the ability to change it at their discretion thereafter.

In another break, officials no longer will base a second charge, for usage, on a three-month average as they have in the past. Instead, residents will be charged $2.85 per thousand gallons used each month.

City Councilor Brian Zimmerman acknowledged that the proposed fee increases would draw the ire of some residents during a Nov. 22 meeting. But he described the proposal as the “easiest and least [painful]” option for city residents.

The public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Council Chambers in City Hall, 952 E. Spruce St. Officials directed individuals looking for more information on the proposal to contact City Clerk and Treasurer Audray McCollum at 406-293-2731 ext. 2.