CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Rate increases for water and sewer services from the City of Cheyenne may be coming this summer.
At a joint meeting Friday, the Cheyenne City Council met with the Board of Public Utilities to discuss the utility department’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2025.
Brad Bowen, administration division manager for BOPU, told councilmembers he and his team intend to apply for FEMA grants for sewer services, pull money from reserve funds to accommodate budget goals and impose rate hikes on Cheyenne water and sewer consumers.
Bowen said the water budget would be around $37 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The board is looking to increase water rates by 10%, which would result in an additional $1.7 million in revenue for the department. The utility department is also estimating a 1.5% decrease in customer water consumption, Bowen added.
The board is similarly proposing a rate increase for sewer services. An 8% increase to customers would bring BOPU roughly an additional $1.6 million in revenue.
Depending on a customer’s water and sewer usage, the rate increase could compound a Cheyenne resident’s monthly budget by anywhere from $2 to $9.
“The real piece of this is, really, what is the impact on the Cheyenne consumer?” Bowen said at the meeting, which was streamed over a Zoom call. “And we don’t take the rate increase we’re proposing lightly. We know that currently we are pushing our citizens to the max on their budgets and that asking for additional rates will put additional strain on them.”
Beyond Fiscal Year 2025, BOPU discussed the possibility of raising rates for the next five to 10 years. From 2018 to 2023, the department increased its utilities anywhere from 3% to 5% year over year, according to Paul Quinn. Starting in January 2026 and up to 2029, though, BOPU said it might have to adjust rates for each of its utility services by 9%.
Members with the utility department stated rate increases could be necessary for several reasons. For one, the current cost-of-living inflation index in the Cheyenne area is 6%, so bumping utility costs would allow the department to continue funding its ongoing projects, according to Bowen. The department is facing rising costs itself, such as rising chemical prices and new regulation guidelines.
