The City of Auburn is working hard to update the rates it charges area towns and villages for water.
Auburn City Council received an update Thursday from Director of Municipal Utilities Seth Jensen on the process of determining future water rates in an effort to make those rates more fair across the board.
The city contracts with four wholesale water customers: the Towns of Aurelius, Sennett, and Throop, and The Cayuga County Water & Sewer Authority. While those are the only entities the city contracts with other communities ultimately end up drinking city water including Brutus, Montezuma, Springport, and Weedsport.
The process of updating its agreement began in December 2023 when the city notified county sewer and water that it wanted to terminate its existing service agreement and negotiate new terms of service.
Stakeholders met in April to come up with a set of goals moving forward and to express concerns. Items discussed included rate standardization, rate stabilization, and transparency. It was determined that a professional services firm could assist them in the endeavor. An RFP was sent out and GHD responded and pitched a scope of service model.
A stakeholder meeting on Tuesday will begin work on creating a memorandum of understanding between the parties on financing the cost of the study. The goal is to adopt the memorandum by November and award a contract for the services.
Jensen added that, if approved on schedule, work would take approximately one year to complete the study.
The City of Auburn has been providing water to its own residents and outside communities for over 100 years. Currently, the city provides drinking water for approximately 45,000 people.
You can view Jensen’s full presentation here.
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