The city of McAllen approved rate increases for water and sewer services that will go into effect next month.

The McAllen city commission and the McAllen Public Utility Board jointly and unanimously agreed to raise rates to combat rising costs due to inflation.  For water, the minimum monthly base fee, which is charged to every customer, increased by $2.50 for a total of $12.45 per month.

They also increased the fee charged for every 1,000 gallons of usage by 20 cents.

For sewer services, the public utility increased the base fee by 50 cents to $12.50 per month but did not increase its usage fees.

The public utility increased its rates based on expenses that had increased “tremendously” due to inflation, according to Mark Vega, the general manager of the McAllen Public Utility.

Price hikes increased the utility’s operational expenses for water services from $14.7 million in 2021 to $17 million this year.

There were three expenses, in particular, that increased in price — chlorine, fuel, and energy, Vega told city commissioners on Monday.

BY BERENICE GARCIA
THE MONITOR STAFF WRITER