Galesburg Reporter

Galesburg is exploring alternative water rate structures with the intention of balancing the costs among residents and other water users in the city while acquiring enough funding to cover various system upgrades and repairs for the next 20 years.

"We can't just look at an annual budget for water," city public works director Wayne Carl said, The Register-Mail reported. "We have to replace big, expensive parts of the water system on a set basis and you have to plan. You can't just look on a one-year basis."

A rating study generated by NewGen Strategies and Solutions, city officials, produced several possible methods to achieve this goal, though some of these plans might involve structural changes regarding how the city facilitates its water services; one such plan involved lowering monthly fees while raising per unit water fees.

The NewGen Strategies and Solutions study also recommended that if the city maintains the current rate structure, it should begin adjusting rates in the 2022 fiscal year and that structure alternatives could be added in the 2021 fiscal year.