On November 9, 2023, the MSD Board of Trustees will determine how high they will increase their rates over the next four years. The MSD Staff has proposed a 4-year wastewater rate increase which would increase consumers costs by 32.30%. Alternatively, in a minority report, four rate commissioners have recommended a 24.18% rate increase. They stated, “There is a cost to being overly conservative, and in this case, the cost is being borne by those who are least able to afford it in our population. As such, this overly conservative policy places an unfair burden on certain classes of ratepayers within the District.”
Consumers Council is advocating for the adoption of the minority report. We appeared before the MSD Board of Trustees on October 26, 2023 and will also be present at the meeting on November 9, 2023. We urge all who are affected by the proposed rate increase to attend that meeting and make comments on how higher MSD rates will affect you.
The MSD proposed rate and its affect on consumers was recently covered by Elliott Davis on Fox 2’s You Paid for It segment. Sandra Padgett, Executive Director of Consumers Council, points out that the proposed rate hike will add to the financial burden of those who are already struggling to pay their utility bills.
https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/continued-debate-over-proposed-msd-rate-hike/