Village of Mahomet to vote on $15 increase to water and sewer bills

MAHOMET, Ill. (WAND) — The village of Mahomet is considering a $15 increase to the water and sewer bills of their customers to help offset operational costs.

The village provides roughly 3,200 residents with water and wastewater services. The average water user in Mahomet uses 4,100 gallons of water a month.

The ordinance will only affect village residents living on the south side of I-74, as residents on the north side are served by the Sangamon Valley Public Water District.

Village Administrator Patrick Brown explained that the usage rates remain unchanged. The increase is to flat-rate facility fees for the water and wastewater facilities.

"There's fixed cost. That doesn't matter if you're using very little water or you're one of the big users, there's still costs that have to be paid," he said. "Our rates still, even with this increase, are very comparable. We're lower than the Sangamon Valley Public Water District, still. I believe we're lower than American Water, as well."

In order to pay operational costs, the water facility charge would increase to $10/month and the sewer facility charge would cost $15/month. Brown explained that normally, charges increase roughly $2.50/month every year. However, there has not been an increase since 2023.

"It seems like a big hit because it's been three years, but the reality is, we typically cover that inflationary period every year with a little bit of an increase," he said.

This increase will allow them to fund necessary infrastructure projects. Over the past years, they have refrained from setting aside money for projects since operational costs kept increasing.

The village of Mahomet hired BCA of Urbana in November of 2024 to conduct a comprehensive water and wastewater rate study for the village. The study was completed in January 2026. There has not been a full analysis for 20 years. In a memorandum to the Board of Trustees, it was called "long overdue" amidst rising costs due to inflation.

Water revenues increased 30%, but expenses increased by 56%. Wastewater revenues increased 15%, while expenses increased 76%.

"Post-pandemic costs have increased a lot more," Brown explained. "We've all seen increases in anything we do from labor cost, to material costs, to project cost."

If the ordinance is passed at Tuesday's meeting, the changes would go into effect in May.