Winter Haven Water and Sewer Rates and Fees Set to Increase Annually Every Year for Five Years
by James Coulter
At the recommendation of a private consulting firm, the City of Winter Haven is set to have its rates and fees for water and sewer utilities increase annually each year.
At their regular meeting on Tuesday evening, Winter Haven City Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the second reading of two ordinances to revise the current rate schedule for the city’s water, sewer, and reclaimed water service.
The first ordinance would increase the charges for water and sewer services “to meet projected net rate and system revenue requirements”, while the next four years would have these charges increase annually by 2.5% for water, 7.5% for sewer, and for other uses “in accordance with general water and wastewater industry rate standards.”
The second ordinance would increase residential connection fees “from $1,669.50 to $3,671.25 for water” and “from $4,196.50 to $8,175.00 for sewer.” Likewise, for industrial development south of Wastewater Treatment Plant 3, these adjustments would increase “from $962.00 to $2,730.75 for water” and “from $3,454.00 to $7,000.00 for sewer.”
Both ordinances were approved through a unanimous vote by city commissioners. Now approved, water and sewer service fees and charges will increase each Oct. 1, while connection fee adjustments will take effect on January 1, 2025.
These adjustments to the schedule for water and sewer fees and charges were recommended on behalf of a study conducted by Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc.
The study, entitled “City of Winter Haven 2024 Utility Rate Study”, was conducted to provide a “thorough fiscal analysis of the City’s water, sewer, and reclaimed water system revenues from utility user rates, fees, and charges and municipal expenses.”
The proposed automatic annual adjustments proved quite controversial with many residents. One resident, Susie Casey, who has been a Winter Haven resident since 1971, spoke during public comments.
She implored the city commissioners to table the ordinances concerning the automatic annual adjustments and to consider other options. She even suggested they consider applying for public funds and grants to renovate the water and sewer system.
“I came in to try to get you to table this and maybe look at new options instead of raising the rates,” she said. “Maybe there are public funds and grants to solve some of the problems instead of automatically raising the rates every year.”
