Business and residential customers in the city of Naples will see a 2.2% increase in water and sewer rates, solid-waste collection and stormwater rates when the next fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
City Council on June 4 unanimously approved a 2.2% increase based on the April 2025 over April 2024 Consumer Price Index annual changes in three markets: the U.S. City Average, South region and Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. Some language also was removed from the ordinance.
“There was some conflicting language in the ordinance that actually put some handcuffs on you … that said for the water and sewer rates alone, you could raise by CPI automatically to a maximum of 3%,” City Customer and Utility Billing Manager Lisa Douglass told Council during a marathon 11-hour meeting. “We never did automatic application of the law. We always came before you for the past 13 years that I’ve been here.”
That language isn’t in the solid-waste or streets and stormwater fees ordinances, she said, so they wanted to make it uniform to provide more flexibility in case of inflation or operational changes.
Last year, Council authorized a 4.5% CPI increase in water-sewer and solid-waste collection rates based on the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area CPI, while stormwater rates increased 40%, based on a consultant’s recommendation due to the city’s $86.2 million project that will improve the quality of stormwater discharged into the Gulf and reduce street flooding.
For residential and business customers, base water and sewer fees will increase from $36.82 to $37.63 monthly, while multifamily customers will pay $28.50, and reclaimed-water rates for most customers will inch up from $13.29 to $13.58. Residential garbage collection fees for customers using trash containers will be $38.54, an increase from $37.53 for residential and from $35.92 for multifamily buildings. For customers with dumpsters, fees will be $6.63, up from $6.49.
In a memo to Council, Douglass noted the consultant’s study, received June 5, 2024, outlined a financial management plan to fund the city’s capital and operational needs, improve flood protection and water quality. Due to anticipated state and local funding anticipated this year, she said they’re only recommending a CPI increase.
The city utility system’s rate structure is designed to support ongoing operations of each enterprise fund, the memo said, noting the structure was developed assuming annual rates would be adjusted based on a defined index, which ensures rates stay sustainable without requiring major rate or structure changes in the future, while assuming no major changes in operations or unrecognized capital improvements.
The city plans to undergo another rate study for all services, Douglass said, adding those are recommended at least every five years and that’s coming up.
Interim Finance Director Stefan Massol noted Council had a lengthy discussion about CPI last year and projected fund balances on a basis of 2% increases annually on all funds, “so this is just modestly above what those projections were based off of.”
Because it’s an ordinance, it requires two votes, so it will be final after Council votes June 18.
Mayor Teresa Heitmann noted: “They’re fair and they’re needed, obviously, for us to provide our services properly.”
