BYRON – Byron city leaders have approved a 10% sewer rate increase for the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year after considering a proposed change from the planned 7% hike to help address rising costs tied to a wastewater treatment plant project and a projected $2.6 million deficit, with the administrative committee recommending the increase in a 3 to 1 vote with Alderman Mittzi Fulrath opposed and the full city council later approving it 6 to 1 with Fulrath still opposed.
City Administrator Patricia Diduch said the added 3 percent increase is intended to help reduce the funding gap for the roughly 30 million dollar project.
“One of the things that is a difficult part of municipal budgeting is trying to plan in advance and raise the revenue that you need to reinvest back into your capital infrastructure,” she said last month.
The rate increase is expected to cost average Byron households less than $2 per month.