The Baltimore Board of Estimates approved substantial utility rate increases Wednesday evening for water, sewer and stormwater bills in the city.

As such, water and sewer bills will increase by 3% and 15%, respectively, upon their current rates effective Feb. 1 for the 2025 fiscal year, which runs through July 1. For the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years — which start on July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026, respectively — the increases upon current rates shift to 9% for water, 9% for sewer and 3% for stormwater.

Figures given by the city’s Department of Public Works show that the average utility bill for a four-person household in the city will increase from the current $130.21 to $167.90 by fiscal year 2027 — a total hike of nearly 29% in the next 18 months.

The 4-0 vote followed more than a month of discussion about the need to upkeep the city’s aging wastewater infrastructure, and address the rising cost of treatment chemicals due to widespread inflation. DPW Director Khalil Zaied, City Comptroller Bill Henry, Chief Administrative Officer Faith Leach (on behalf of Mayor Brandon Scott) and Deputy City Solicitor Stephen Salsbury voted in favor, while City Council President Zeke Cohen abstained.

On Wednesday, the increase was no more popular among residents at City Hall than it was at Jan. 9 community meeting in the Northwest District.

Fifty-four residents submitted formal statements of opposition against the rate increase, and 12 of them showed up to share their testimonies in person. Many of them focused on their desire for the city’s wealthy institutions to “pay their fair share” via property taxes instead of passing the burden onto poor Baltimore residents.

“I don’t think enough has been done to make sure businesses pay their fair share,” said resident Karima Gibson, who added that the city has not provided enough information about the increase outside of online mediums, especially for its senior citizens.

“Institutions should pay for city services like all city residents do,” said Antonia Brooks, a physical therapist who lives with her elderly father and believes her family will be burdened by the increase.

Other residents, like Wendy Bozel, believe Baltimore should require surrounding counties that get to use the city’s water infrastructure at discounted rates to shoulder more of the load.

“Before we go raising our water [rate], let’s look at the other counties,” Bozel said.

Responding to Bozel, City Comptroller Bill Henry said the city cannot unilaterally change long-standing legal agreements with the counties. Past attempts to negotiate such agreements resulted in the counties trying to take control of the city’s infrastructure in exchange for making their residents pay more, Henry said.

Henry also noted that property tax revenue is already spread thin by the need to fund city schools, libraries and other public institutions.

According to DPW Deputy Director Matt Garbark, the city is also working to collect millions of dollars in outstanding utility bills to help address financial shortages.

At Wednesday morning’s Board of Estimates meeting, members authorized a $12 million contract increase for a cloud system that will help DPW collect more than $75 million in owed payments around the city. Garbark says $56 million has been collected from 46 commercial accounts thus far, which accounts for just 42% of the total.

Zaied previously noted that collecting the remaining money will likely take longer than the eight months it took to collect the initial 40% because the city initially prioritized a small number of commercial accounts with the largest outstanding balances. About 80% of the outstanding money is from residential accounts, Garbark said Wednesday.

Other officials, like Henry and Scott, have explained that the increase — while unfortunate — was inevitable and is in line with similar increases seen in other regional cities, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Have a news tip? Contact Carson Swick at cswick@baltsun.com.