Media release
(STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA) — The Stillwater City Council, sitting as trustees for the Stillwater Utility Authority, voted at its Dec. 7 meeting to set new rates for street sweeping, recycling and solid waste collection service rates for the Stillwater Waste Management Utility. The new rates go into effect Jan. 1.
At a council work session in October, City Council discussed staff recommendations that included information gathered during a recent cost of service and rate design analysis by NewGen Strategies and Solutions and a citizen task force that met from Nov. 2019 through Feb. 2020. Actions concerning rates for electric, water and wastewater were tabled.
“It would have been easy just to raise the rates to cover our costs, but we want to have citizen input and good data to lead the way,” Waste Management Director Chris Knight said. “We believe we are moving in the right direction to ensure our customers receive the best services at the right rate.”
The study focused on determining the cost of providing solid waste services, equitably distributing the costs to the appropriate customer classes, and designing rates to safeguard the financial integrity of the utility. The citizen task force’s mission was to understand the issues related to recycling and recommend the next steps for the City’s recycling program.
Its recommendations included building and operating a staging facility for recycling. The facility will be located near 3015 N Airport Industrial Access Rd. The new rate structure was set, in part, to fund the staging facility.
A citizen FlashVote survey from December 2019 indicated strong support for citywide recycling services.
When looking at utility rates, the City considers the following:
· Having sufficient financial resources and ability to fund continued operation, maintenance, and construction of high-quality and essential electric, waste collection, water and wastewater services
· Ensuring facilities are run in an economical and equitable manner
· Meeting the demands of its customers without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
“While we are sensitive to the needs of Stillwater residents and raising rates during a pandemic is not ideal, we also have to be forward-looking. We are simultaneously looking at financial support, with CARES Act funding and other grants, for those who need help with their utility bills,” City Manager Norman McNickle said. “Information on funding options will be announced soon.”
