HILLSBORO, Ohio — Hillsboro sewer customers face a 20% rate increase in 2027, followed by additional increases through 2031, under an ordinance Hillsboro City Council introduced Aug. 13 to close a funding gap in the city’s aging sewer system.
The ordinance, given a first reading at council’s regular meeting, would raise sewer rates 20% in 2027, 15% in 2028, 15% in 2029, 7% in 2030 and 4% in 2031, according to meeting minutes. At the 20% step, the increase would add about $6 to $8 a month to the average customer’s bill, based on projections the city’s Utilities Committee reviewed in July.
Safety and Service Director Shawn Adkins told council the increases are necessary because sewer rates have not changed since 2016, even as the cost of operating, maintaining and repairing the system has risen. He cited deferred rate adjustments, aging infrastructure, ongoing inflow and infiltration problems, and a state Notice of Violation tied to sanitary sewer overflows as reasons the city needs a stable new revenue source.
“These rate increases will help protect public health, maintain local control over needed improvements, and ensure the sewer system remains reliable for years to come,” Adkins said, according to the minutes.
The rate figures assume the city receives no additional grant funding, though officials said they intend to keep pursuing grants to offset the increases. Adkins said locking in a multiyear rate schedule also helps show lenders the city has a plan to repay any loans it takes out for sewer work.
Not every council member backed the full five-year timeline. Councilman Heith Brown said he was uncomfortable committing to increases through 2031, particularly if the city secures grant funding later, and suggested council explore alternatives, including a surcharge, before finalizing the schedule. The city’s Utilities Committee had recommended sending the proposed rates through 2031 to council with the stipulation that they be reviewed annually.
The rate ordinance received only its first of three required readings Aug. 13 — council had not yet disclosed the size of the increase when the meeting was previewed — and must clear additional votes before taking effect.
Council also suspended its three-reading rule and voted unanimously, as an emergency measure, to authorize Mayor Justin Harsha and the engineering firm DLZ Ohio Inc. to prepare and submit a grant application to the Ohio Public Works Commission for state capital improvement or local transportation funding, and to sign related contracts if the funding is awarded.
In separate action, council gave final approval to an ordinance setting compensation for the city’s elected officials for terms beginning in 2028 and 2030.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Hillsboro City Council.
