Broomfield City Council approves water rate hike for its Colorado residents of more than 50%
CBS 4 News
This week the Broomfield City Council approved a water rate hike of more than 50% for 2025. That means bills in Broomfield are going up next year. The county says this comes after years of not paying enough to keep up with system fixes. But now, the county is playing catch-up.
Broomfield resident Rick Fernandez has been following this issue all summer. He said he's already dreading his January bill saying, "We're grappling every single month with our day-to-day bills, our family budgets, and the feeling is that the city's not really doing much on their end to kind of meet us halfway."
Broomfield Communications Director Julie Story explain some reasons for the rate increase include aging infrastructure, more regulations, and pay was not set to keep up with demand.
Story explained, "Residents in Broomfield have been paying below market rates as compared to our neighboring municipalities for about 20 years, so the overall utility rates have not kept pace with the cost to provide services."
Other cities and counties like Denver are also raising their water rates but many are by lesser amounts.
In response to why Broomfield rates were lower than surrounding areas Story said, "I'll just say that it was a really hard decision, you know, knowing the impact, but in order to ensure that ability to continue to provide a safe and reliable water supply to the residents, that decision had to be made."
The city has shared photos of cracked or broken pipes throughout the city that need repairs alongside an aging infrastructure.
And while most people CBS Colorado spoke to agree that something should be done, not everyone likes how the problem is being solved. This includes some council members this week who voted against the measure.
"Coming back with another, another rate like this, it just it's too much. There's a whole lot of reasons why we got where we are, but I just, I just can't support this tonight," Councilmember James Marsh-Holschen said.
Meanwhile, residents like Fernandez are taking a new look at their budget heading into the new year.
"I don't look at it where I want any of my neighbors to be in a position where they have to make a decision of paying a water bill or buying groceries. No one should be put in that position," Fernandez said.
Broomfield is also creating a rate assistance program to help those who qualify pay their water bill. They expect to share more information about the program later this fall.