Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Water and Sewer Rates to increase
DAVENPORT — The Davenport City Council has approved a $7.8 million budget for 2025, including adjustments to water and sewer rates to ensure sustainable operations and financial stability.
The $7.8 million budget outlines estimated revenues of $8,854,290 and proposed expenditures totaling $7,810,500, covering the city’s financial needs for the coming fiscal year.
City Administrator Steve Goemmel explained that water and sewer rate adjustments were initially approved in early November, but changes were made after additional financial analysis.
“We approved it [the budget] in November for the first time and then did some crunching at the end of November and realized we needed to make some adjustments,” Goemmel said.
Under the new plan, water rates will increase by 2-3% annually, and sewer rates will rise by 1%.
“It is always good practice to keep a consistent rate of increase for water systems so it is not a big change for citizens,” Goemmel said. “It is not palatable to do a huge increase at once.”
The budget includes expenditures for salaries and benefits across city departments.
Executive and legislative positions account for $21,540 in salaries and $1,785 in benefits and taxes, while administration and finance expenditures include $28,761 for salaries and $9,960 for benefits and taxes.
The fire department’s allocation includes $16,768 in salaries and $2,902 in benefits and taxes.
Animal control expenses are $6,730 in salaries and $2,634 in benefits and taxes, planning accounts for $5,832 in salaries and $2,019 in benefits and taxes, and housing is budgeted at $7,290 in salaries and $2,524 in benefits and taxes.
Parks receive $16,914 in salaries and $6,600 in benefits and taxes.
Street expenditures for improvements and maintenance total $597,950.
The incremental rate adjustments and balanced funding approach aim to ensure affordability for residents while supporting the city’s essential services and infrastructure needs.
Goemmel noted that the budget reflects Davenport’s proactive approach to meeting financial and operational priorities for the upcoming year.
Olivia Harnack is the award-winning managing editor/photographer/videographer/columnist at the Lincoln County Record-Times, with offices in both Davenport and Odessa, Wash. She is a University of Idaho graduate and a U.S. Army National Guardsman.
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