The Board of Public Utilities for City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., has approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Operating Budget for the public power utility.
The budget will move to Springfield City Council for a first reading on September 8, followed by a second reading and potential adoption on September 21. The proposed budget allows for up to $874 million in expenditures.
The FY 2027 budget supports City Utilities’ ongoing commitment to replacing aging infrastructure and ensuring the safety, reliability, and overall value of essential services. Budgeted expenditures include fuel costs, capital improvements and operational expenses across all utility systems.
City Utilities is also seeking approval for a water rate increase to maintain clean and reliable water service. The rate increase would fund essential upgrades to aging infrastructure and strengthen system reliability.
It would also support projects that secure long-term water supply, enhance delivery and storage, add backup power and redundancy and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
If approved by Springfield City Council, the average residential customer would pay about $3.25 more per month beginning in October 2027, with similar adjustments planned for each of the following two years. The proposed adjustment would generate approximately $16.8 million per year once fully implemented.
In recent years, inflation has outpaced City Utilities’ water rates, which have increased by less than 15% since 2019, the utility noted. Meanwhile, the average cost of the most commonly used materials needed to maintain the water system, such as pipe, has climbed sharply by about 73% since 2019.
To help lessen the impact of the rate adjustment, City Utilities will introduce a new income-qualified free toilet replacement program for past LIHEAP recipients and increase the amount for the WaterSense® toilet rebate for all customers looking to make water efficiency upgrades.
City Utilities is also asking for approval of a Transmission Cost Adjustment (TCA). City Utilities is already paying for regional transmission system improvements. "The TCA would simply allow the Board of Public Utilities to approve passing through only the actual costs of these improvements based on more accurate, one year estimates that are trued up annually, rather than multi-year projections built into the base rate," the utility noted.
These upgrades "help strengthen the reliability of our electric system and support long-term service for the community," City Utilities said.
