KENTWOOD, Mich. — About 8,500 Kentwood households will see higher water and sewer bills after the city council approved a rate increase at a Tuesday meeting.
The increases affect residents west of Breton Road, who receive water service through the City of Wyoming. Two separate increases are planned: the first takes effect July 1, and the second follows in January 2027.
Rates will rise from $4.20 to $4.58 per unit by July 1, then to $4.99 by the start of 2027 — an 18% total increase. The city estimates the average Kentwood resident will pay an additional $15.75 per quarterly billing cycle, or $63 more per year.
Kayla Garcia, the city's finance director, said the increases are tied to costs from a regional water infrastructure project in Wyoming being passed through to customers.
"So the increases are necessary for the Wyoming water service side of the city. So not every resident is affected, but they are necessary to maintain infrastructure cost and increase demand from the regional system," Kayla said.
The city chose to phase in the increases over six-month intervals rather than implementing a single larger hike.
"We wanted to do gradual increases to keep money in people's pockets. If the increase is not necessary, we don't want to put that burden on families," Kayla said.
Neighbor Deb McGonigle, who lives in the affected area, said she was unaware the increase was coming before the council voted.
"If we need to finance them, that makes sense, but you're saying we're just now finding this out. We weren't told about this prior to city council making that decision, and so it will come to a surprise to a lot of people," McGonigle said.
McGonigle said the impact on her personally will be limited, but she expressed concern for larger households.
"I'm a single person, I can monitor all that (utilities). I don't have to run it by anyone else, but with a lot of people in one household, that could be very expensive," McGonigle said.
This is the second time Kentwood has raised water and sewer rates in the past year. City officials say residents should expect this pattern to continue.
"We want to be able to maintain the water and sewer systems. So, because the systems are so important, we need to make these increases happen, so that we can provide reliable service," Kayla said.
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