Ilwaco contracts for study of water, sewer rates

Published 9:29 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

ILWACO — City councilors last week voted to move ahead in contracting for a rate study aimed at scrutinizing Ilwaco’s water and sewer rates.

The Ilwaco City Council at its July 28 meeting unanimously voted to authorize Mayor Mike Cassinelli to contract for a utility rate study with Redmond-based FCS Group, a company that provides utility rate and fee consulting services and was acquired last year by Bowman, a national engineering services firm.

The study is being paid for courtesy of a $125,000 grant that the council accepted this February from Pacific County’s .09 Fund. The grant was awarded by the Pacific County Commission, which receives recommendations from the Pacific County Council of Governments about local capital projects that should receive support through Washington’s .09 sales tax.

Councilor Matt Lessnau changed the wording of the suggested motion for the council to authorize Cassinelli to execute the contract with FCS Bowman for the rate study in the amount of $123,846. Lessnau’s amended motion authorizes Cassinelli to execute the contract with FCS Bowman for the rate study for an amount not to exceed $125,000 — matching the total funding that the city received from the .09 grant.

“I’m hoping it eliminates our individual approval of a change order or two,” said Lessnau. Fellow councilor Dave Cundiff said having to approve a change order for roughly $1,100 would be a waste of everyone’s time, but Lessnau said the council has had to do so in the past.

Background

This spring, the council moved to solicit proposals for a utility rate study. In its request for proposals to consulting firms, Ilwaco said the utility rate study must cover its water, sewer and stormwater services, while any rate analysis should factor in each of the relevant city budgets — such as the water and wastewater funds — as well as review the current usage data, projected future growth, and plans and studies for its facilities.

Councilors at their previous meeting, on July 14, selected the proposal from FCS among four utility rate study proposals that it had received from consulting firms.

The proposals were scrutinized by a review team composed of Cassinelli, Ilwaco City Administrator Holly Beller, and city councilors Matt Lessnau and Dave Cundiff — who both serve on the council’s utilities/streets committee. Proposals were scored based on five criteria: Project approach, qualifications and experiences, list of personnel responsible for the project, organizational chart, and successful past projects.

The proposal from FCS received the highest marks outright from three of the four members of the review team — Cassinelli, Lessnau and Cundiff — while Beller had it tied for first with another proposal. FCS’s proposal generally scored highest for its approach, qualifications and past project success.

“Our approach to ratemaking goes beyond sound math, establishing a ‘roadmap’ of policies, priorities, and initiatives that provides a guiding philosophy to inform rate and financial decisions,” FCS stated in its proposal, touting its 35-plus years of completing water, sewer and stormwater rate studies in the region.

Different rate paths

The most recent utility rate study for Ilwaco was completed in 2011, and new rate structures were adopted the following year. This new study, which is expected to span two fiscal years, will offer at least two different rate paths for Ilwaco’s utilities — one that considers no near-term increases and analyzes what the implications would be for the city’s finances and operations of its utility systems, and one that calls for an immediate or gradual rate increase.

The minimum monthly water rate for most residences in Ilwaco is currently $38.25, with an additional charge of $5.88 for every 100 cubic feet of water usage. The minimum sewer rate is $45.50 per month, with a $9.18 charge for every 100 cubic feet. The monthly stormwater charge is $8.28 for developed residential parcels that are less than 6,000 square feet, and $10.34 for parcels that are at least 6,000 square feet.

Ilwaco did not raise its water or sewer rates for 2025 but has gradually increased the rates in recent years, citing the need to keep up with inflation and recent improvements to facilities. That included a nearly 20% increase in 2021, when Ilwaco also established a 25% “peak season” surcharge from May through September.

Long Beach completed its own rate study in 2023, as it faces some $13 million in projects to improve its water facilities through 2035. After receiving the study, Long Beach increased its water rate by 5% last year — along with raising its one-time fee for first-time connections from $2,500 to $5,500 — and by 8% in 2025.