City Council passes water fee increase

The Bloomington City Council unanimously passed legislation Monday night in a special session focused on rate hikes for Bloomington's water utility fees.

The council voted 9-0 in favor of a 54-percent rate increase, which would allow for payments on the principle of a $41 million water infrastructure development to start right away and, ultimately, save the city $10 million in interest payments.

Many of the council members found the vote difficult.

"There are going to be constituents who are not going to be thrilled that their rates are going up," councilman Chris Sturbaum said. "We have tried to find another way. We really ended up trusting the experts and the consultants. I apologize to those that are going to be paying more, but that is the price of water."

The council and members of the public who spoke at the meeting, along with Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, all stated that improving Bloomington's water security was important now.

"We are doing this for the future," Sturbaum said.

–Alycin Bektesh