No Elmhurst Water Rate Hike Next Year, Despite Study

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst has no plan to increase water and sewer rates next year, an official said Monday.

This is despite a 2023 rate study that calls for a hike every year through 2031. This is so the city can pay for improvements to its water and sewer plants, officials say.

In February, the City Council unanimously voted for a 28 percent increase in rates, with the mayor calling the decision "painful" but needed.

The change was based on a study that recommended 30 percent and 1.8 percent hikes in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The study also suggests annual increases ranging from 2.3 percent to 5.7 percent over the next half dozen years.

Last year's hike was in response to inflation, the need to address aging infrastructure, and a response to state and federal mandates to remove phosphorous in the treatment process, officials said.

In a budget presentation Monday, Christina Coyle, Elmhurst's finance director, said the city would not propose a water and sewer rate hike for next year.

"It is important to balance the needs of the (utility fund) while being mindful of the city's customers who saw significant increases in rates at the beginning of 2024," Coyle said.

She left the door open for a rate increase in 2026.

"The city will not grow its emergency cash reserve in 2025, a goal which can reviewed during 2025 as the city prepares for rates during 2026," Coyle said.

The absence of a rate hike proposal may be welcome news for elected city officials in the months before the April 1 mayoral and City Council election. One of the aldermen, Marti Deuter, a Democrat running for state representative, is taking heat from her opponent, Republican Dennis Reboletti, for voting for the 28 percent increase. (One of his campaign donors on the council also supported the hike.)

This year, major improvements to the city's water treatment plant began, addressing components that are three decades old, according to a city memo.

The upgrades will continue through next year, when $30 million in work is planned, the memo said. The projects are financed by low-interest state loans.

Elmhurst's plan includes $62 million in needed investments through 2029, the city said.