Litchfield Previews Five-Year Plan to Raise Water and Sewer Rates

Litchfield City Council Meeting | May 21, 2026

Article Summary: The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, May 21, 2026, heard a detailed consultant presentation on a proposed five-year overhaul of city water and sewer rates aimed at funding tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure work. No vote was taken; the three related items were held for discussion only to give the public time to review the data.

Water and Sewer Rate Study Key Points:

• A rate study by the firm Baker Tilly proposes phasing in rate increases over five years, with the city’s minutes describing a 63% increase across that period.
• The plan would simplify the rate structure, replacing the water utility’s multiple declining-use brackets with a single flow rate and base charges scaled to meter size.
• The city’s consultant said the average combined household water-and-sewer bill would rise roughly $7.70 a month, on average, over the full five years.
• The city plans to remove the $5 monthly meter fee from utility bills by repealing the resolution that created it.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, May 21, 2026, reviewed a proposed five-year restructuring of the city’s water and sewer rates, holding three related ordinance items for discussion only so residents could examine the numbers before any vote. The items — amendments to Chapter 52 (water rates) and Chapter 51 (sewer rates) of the municipal code, and an ordinance repealing Resolution 3-16, which adopted the city’s utility improvement fee — are expected to return to the council at upcoming meetings.

Mayor Jacob Fleming said the council deliberately delayed action so the public could see the data, which the city posted with the meeting agenda. He said the work began roughly eight months ago, before a citywide boil order, when the council set out to take a “data-driven” approach to the city’s underground infrastructure built around three goals: fairness, affordability and simplicity.

Andre Riley, a principal with the consulting firm Baker Tilly, presented the study. He said the firm examined the city’s finances over prior years and projected forward, concluding that Litchfield faces about $30 million in combined water and sewer projects along with deferred maintenance. Riley said the plan phases increases over five years to avoid “rate shock,” noting that a five-year ramp is a common approach in Illinois. He said the firm reviewed five possible water rate structures and three sewer structures before recommending the proposed design.

Why Rates Are Rising

Riley said the city’s water rates had not increased in roughly six years and its sewer rates in about three, even as inflation outpaced revenue. He said the proposed structure would move the water utility away from five declining-use brackets — an older design — toward a single flow rate paired with base charges scaled to meter size, mirroring the sewer side. Most Litchfield homes have 3/4-inch meters, officials said, so the design is intended to place a larger share of any increase on higher-volume users.

City Administrator Vazquez said the city’s enterprise funds, which by law must be self-supporting, have been running deficits. She said the most recently approved budget carried roughly a $1.5 million operating deficit, including about $800,000 on the water side, driven in part by emergency costs tied to the boil order. She and Riley said a major driver of the long-term plan is the sewer treatment plant, which Fleming said is nearing the end of its useful life and represents a roughly $23 million project.

Vazquez and Fleming said maintaining balanced enterprise funds is also tied to the city’s ability to borrow. Vazquez said Litchfield must show it can repay low-interest loans for the large infrastructure projects, and the city would not qualify for that financing — or for certain grants — if its water and sewer funds continue to run in the red. City Attorney Michael McGinley cited a provision of the Illinois Municipal Code requiring that water and sewer rates be set high enough to cover operations and maintenance, fund depreciation and pay principal and interest on revenue bonds.

Council Questions and the $5 Meter Fee

Several council members pressed Riley on the plan’s assumptions. Alderperson Bert Holloway asked how population growth factored into the projections; Riley said the firm assumed a stable population rather than projecting growth, which the council agreed was the more responsible approach. Other members asked how higher commercial and industrial rates might affect downtown businesses and economic development. Vazquez said the city sampled a range of customers — including a coffee shop, a downtown restaurant and a fast-food location — and concluded the increases were unlikely to be severe enough to threaten local businesses, while noting some costs could be passed to customers. She said the city also offers payment plans and sewer proration in cases such as a major water leak.

Officials also said the plan would remove the $5 monthly meter fee that has appeared on utility bills for years, which the council would accomplish by repealing Resolution 3-16. Fleming said the fee — split evenly between water and sewer — generated confusion because the city never clearly explained how the money was used, and that simplifying the bill was a key goal.

No vote was taken, and Fleming encouraged residents to review the study and bring questions to the next council meeting. “We’re not voting on this,” he said, adding that he hoped the public would scrutinize the data.