West Fargo eyes utility rate hike in 2025 – InForum

WEST FARGO — The city of West Fargo is eyeing a rate hike in 2025 for utilities such as water, sewer and garbage.

Public Works Director Matt Andvik is proposing a rate increase to garbage, water, sewer and forestry rates. Andvik said a primary reason for the proposal is to maintain and grow healthy reserves for the individual utility funds. Having a reserve — or savings on hand — would be able to fund small infrastructure projects, such as the ongoing upgraded water meter installation or a potential expansion to the Public Works building in northern West Fargo. Reserves can also be used as a “rainy day fund” in case something “catastrophic” would occur, Andvik said.

The proposed changes would cause an average user of 4,000 gallons of water and a 64-gallon garbage can to change from about $85.33 in 2024 to $103.74 in 2025. For an average user of 6,000 gallons of water, the total utility bill would increase from $108.13 to $131.28 per month in 2025.

Using the rate increases would leave the water fund with a year-end reserve of about $11.6 million in 2025. The sewer fund would produce a year-end reserve of about $1.4 million, up from the estimated 2024 year-end reserve of $500,000. Sanitation would have a $1.3 million reserve, down from $2 million in 2024.

Andvik defines a healthy reserve as one with enough money to cover about two months’ worth of expenses. The national standard is anywhere between two and three months, Andvik said at the Aug. 19 City Commission meeting.

“And that is the reason for the large increase we’re proposing in 2025 is to get those reserves back up to a healthy level and start funding some projects in 2029,” Andvik said.

Another cause of the rate proposal is West Fargo’s increase in wastewater flows to Fargo, which is needed to continue the decommissioning of the West Fargo Lagoon system.

“We’re about half done,” Andvik said. “We’re looking to be finished in about seven to eight years.”

The city has budgeted $2.75 million gallons of wastewater to be sent to Fargo in the next year, and it expects to increase that to $3.5 million to drain additional lagoons.

Sewer rates would change from $4 per 1,000 gallons of sewer use to $6 per 1,000 gallons. The base rate would increase from $9 per thousand gallons of sewer use to $13.50 per 1,000 gallons of sewer use.

“Sewer is a little bit bigger jump because we haven’t raised rates since 2020,” Andvik said. Fargo is raising the sewer rates it charges West Fargo to accept wastewater from $3 per 1,000 gallons to $3.71. A residential seasonal use cap on water would be implemented at 8,000 gallons so that residents who need to water their lawns in the summer would not be charged for excessive use.

Fargo will also be charging West Fargo more for clean water in 2025. In 2015, West Fargo agreed to start buying water from Fargo and for the first four years, the cost was $3.25 per 1,000 gallons of water. The contract with Fargo would have allowed Fargo to increase the rates in 2020 but a water rate increase was not implemented until 2023. West Fargo now pays $4.71 per 1,000 gallons of water.

“Fargo has notified us that they will be increasing those rates in 2025 and what we’re looking at is an even increase in 2025 and 2026,” Andvik said.

West Fargo uses about 1,285 billion gallons of water per year and estimates it will spend about $5 million per year to purchase water from Fargo in 2025.

Andvik’s proposal would increase water rates from $7.40 to $7.77 per 1,000 of water used by residents. The base rate would increase from $7.25 to $7.61 for the average size meter, or 3/4-inch meter.

Sanitation rates, which were increased about 17% in 2024 would again increase from $20.48 to $23.55 for the average household 64-gallon bin. West Fargo will also need to consider its future garbage needs, he said.

“We need a plan for waste disposal in the next 10 to 15 years,” Andvik said. “We may need to haul the waste away a little further if the Fargo (landfill) starts getting full.”

The city is also proposing to increase the $2 forestry service fee to $3 per month. He said this will help initiate an action plan to treat and prevent the deadly tree disease, Emerald Ash Borer, which has been found as near as Moorhead in recent years. The vegetative disease is easily spread and can attack trees quickly.

The city of West Fargo cares for about 4,607 trees in the public right of way. The remaining 15,385 boulevard trees are maintained by residents. In 2019, the Urban Forestry Committee recommended West Fargo take over all boulevard tree maintenance, which the city forestry department is slowly preparing for.

“Even though we are proposing to increase (rates), I still think it’s better to have a plan like this than to have nothing and have to do a major jump down the road,” Commissioner Brad Olson said.

Mayor Bernie Dardis said the proposed rates were used in the city’s preliminary budget to calculate the revenues of the 2025 budget.

The commission has not yet taken action on the rate increase proposal. The city recently passed its preliminary budget and a public hearing will be held on the city budget Monday, Sept. 16.