(Kansas City, Mo.) How should Kansas City pay for water services? That was the question before the mayoral-appointed Cost of Service Task Force. Now, after more than year of public meetings, the group is preparing to make their recommendations.
The Task Force has held eleven public meetings since April 2016. The Task Force will meet again on May 9th and on June 6th before providing final recommendations to the City Council. Customers with comments about the funding of water, wastewater, and stormwater services are invited to share their feedback with the task force at the next meeting.
- What: Cost of Service Task Force Meeting
- When: Tuesday, May 9th, 4pm – 7pm
- Where: Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, 3700 Blue Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64130
The issue of water affordability is not unique to Kansas City, it has become a national conversation. The federal government provides billing assistance programs for other utilities, but not for water and wastewater.
Because water and wastewater rates have significantly increased to pay for unfunded federally-mandated programs (costing billions of dollars) and decades of infrastructure neglect, last year KC Water asked the Mayor to appoint the Task Force, comprised of customers, to integrate community values into a funding strategy for Kansas City’s current and long-term water and wastewater infrastructure needs.
The Task Force’s work is nearing its completion. Customers who have feedback regarding water and wastewater rates, are invited to share that feedback with the Task Force in person at one of the final two public meetings, or via the online public comment form.
Meeting dates and locations, agendas and presentations, and an online public comment form can be found at www.kcwaterservices.org/cost.
For more information, please contact Brooke Givens, Media Relations Coordinator, at brooke.givens@kcmo.org or 816.513.0284.
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KC Water maintains and operates water treatment and distribution systems, stormwater management systems, and wastewater collection and treatment systems for residential and business customers in Kansas City and for wholesale customers in the Kansas City area. KC Water is primarily funded by fees charged to customers based on their use or impacts on the three utility systems.
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