Water and sewer rates were increased by the City of Billings by the city council during their meeting Monday evening. They created a special rate tier for businesses which re-sell water to customers living outside the city limits.
Water rates in general will increase immediately by about 4 percent by a vote of 8-3 of the city council, following a debate in which Jeff Essman, owner of No Cash Water, LLC, spoke to the council in opposition of increasing the cost of water for services such as his by 7 percent. He said that in 20 years of business he has only managed to break even in providing a quality service.
Also impacted by the higher increase to re-sellers are two other companies, Reliable Water Service and Fisher Water Service.
Sewer rates will increase slightly less than 4 percent.
The city adjusts water and sewer rates every two years. On average a typical resident uses an average of about 8,000 gallons a month.
