Emporia to revisit utility increases

Emporia City Commissioners may revisit utility rate increases that are set to go into effect next year.

Commissioners had approved what amounted to an overall 8 percent increase in city utilities — water, sewer and trash — that would amount to roughly an extra $6 on a bill for a household using 5,000 gallons of water each month.

But Finance Director Janet Harrouff said as she has been reviewing the city’s numbers, she found a number of issues between the city’s current water sales falling $200,000 below the budgeted amount and ongoing bond payment schedules that prompted her to do some refiguring.