COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater BPU Board of Directors recommended to the City Council on Wednesday night that water and wastewater rates increase for CBPU customers on July 1 which is the start of Fiscal Year 2026.
The recommendation came after a “Cost of Service” study was recently completed by Utility Financial Solutions as the firm reviewed the financial health of the Water and Wastewater utilities.
UFS recommended an annual overall rate increase of 3.9 percent for water and 3.5 percent for wastewater over the next five years.
CBPU Director Paul Jakubczak said in his memo to the board that the study reviewed the cash balance, the
debt ratios and the five-year capital budget projections of both utilities. He stated the firm used the final results for Fiscal Year 24 and the preliminary results for the first eight months of Fiscal Year 25 while also using the proposed rolling five-year capital forecast.
Under the proposed changes, customers in the City of Coldwater with 5/8 inch water lines would see a one dollar monthly increase to $19.50 while those outside of the city would see their rate go up by $1.50 to $29.25.
Commodity wastewater rates per 1,000 gallons would go up from $3.52 to $3.75 for city residents. The flat rate outside of the city would increase from $51.02 to $52.40.
The complete report on the proposed rates can be found in the CBPU meeting packet for Wednesday’s meeting on the city of Coldwater’s web site which is coldwater.org.
The new rates are part of the CBPU 2025-2026 budget which was also approved by the board on Wednesday. The City Council will take action on the utility’s budget during Monday night’s meeting.
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