Longboat Key proposes rate increases to fund utility projects

Water and sewer bills could be on the rise as the town considers critical infrastructure projects in the next five years.

The Longboat Key Town Commission is set to decide between two proposed increases for water and sewage rates to help fund critical projects during the next decade.

The town has identified about $42.8 million in critical capital needs through fiscal year 2030.

“The town hasn’t increased its rates for over 10 years, even beyond that, even though we’ve had ongoing cost increases for materials and salaries and insurance and all those things, so we’ve been careful about increasing our rate revenue on our side of the bill,” Town Manager Tom Harmer said. “We have some big projects coming up that are necessary.”

Commissioners are expected to decide between two options:

• Option one would expand the monthly residential sewer billing cap from 7,000 gallons to 10,000 gallons, spreading most of the increase to high-volume users.
• Option two would provide across-the-board adjustments on all user rates