Medford, Ore. — Medford residents could soon see an increase to their utility bill. The City Council is taking a look at sanitary sewer, storm drain, and street utility fees.
Under the proposal, the City noted people would pay a small percentage more to fix issues before they become major problems. Medford resident Carol Ober said it’s something she would support.
“I’m a proactive person, so I would probably support it because the cost is always effective if it’s before the problem gets worse,” Ober said.
According to Medford Public Works Director Cory Crebbin, that’s exactly the City’s goal.
“We always try to accomplish maintenance at the lowest lifecycle cost, so we do things like slurry seals,” Crebbin said. “Lining pipes, instead of digging them up and replacing them.”
A consulting firm looked into Medford’s current pipes, roads, and storm drains. Crebbin said the firm made recommendations on all three.
“You do need to put more money into streets to avoid future bigger increases,” Crebbin said. “And our sewer, we actually sent TV cameras down the sewer pipes, and have a pretty good inventory of what needs to be done.” 
The fee increase would be effective for three years, with changing rates for all three areas.
Fees for streets would increase by nine percent the first two years, and then drop to eight percent in 2020.
Sewage rates would be the highest at eleven percent more for two years, before dropping a point. Storm drain costs would only increase one percent for just the first year.
Crebbin said a typical single family home would see an increase of less than $7.
“Their city utility fee will be $6.95 higher than it is now,” Crebbin said.
While people may not want to see higher bills, Crebbin said it will save residents in the long run.
“If we make these adjustments now, we’re avoiding even larger adjustments in the future, and we’re actually reducing the adjustments we’ll need in the future,” Crebbin said.
The proposed changes will be brought before council Thursday, April 19, at its regular meeting. If approved, the changes would go into effect in July, meaning residents will notice a difference on their August bill.
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