The Sheridan Town Council held a special meeting on June 19 to explain and discuss the proposed 20% rate increases to their water and wastewater rates, the council vote on the increase will take place at the next town council regular meeting on July 14 at 6 p.m. at the Sheridan Senior Center. 

Mayor Bob Stump explained the budget for the municipal water system and how the raise will move towards bringing it into compliance with Montana state law that requires municipal utilities to remain solvent on their own merit. 

Sheridan resident Richard Wang suggested that the town make cuts to the budget to reduce the amount of the increase, which is the first in Sheridan since 2018. When asked what specific areas to cut, he suggested that staff salaries were a place to start. 

While state law prohibits monies from the general fund to be used to subsidize the utilities, the Town of Sheridan appropriates 40% of the staff salary from water revenues, 40% from wastewater revenues and just 20% from the general fund. Mayor Stump pointed out that with this arrangement, salaries could be reduced and it would have an impact on water and wastewater costs. The proposal was not met with enthusiasm by the mayor or the staff represented at the meeting. 

Patricia Wang, also a resident of Sheridan, said she had taken the average of all of the water and sewer utility rates in the state of Montana and the average payment is $93 a month. She questioned why the  new Sheridan rate would be $103 a month on average. Councilwoman Jan Bowey suggested that differences in the water systems, the amount of debt the municipalities had taken on for improvements and other factors make each municipality’s utility budget unique. 

It was pointed out that the rate increase does include line items in the budget for capital improvements to increase the capacity of the city's water system. Those improvements included $75,000 for the rehabilitation of well five in order to slow its decreasing production. The improvements also include a project that will install generator backup systems to the pumps so they can stay operational during a power outage. 

The proposed impact of the rate increases have been mailed to the customers in the town and the full proposal for the increases is available at Sheridan Town Hall.