Changes have been finalized to water and sewer tap in fees in the City of Howell.

The Howell City Council adopted an ordinance amendment modifying the City’s water and sewer tap in rates. The water and sewer capital connection charges were formulated based on a study conducted by Utility Financial Solutions. It was affirmed that there are currently no outstanding requests and there will be no retroactive charges.

Community Development Director Tim Schmitt noted the fees are based on exponential growth of flow, but are still significantly lower than surrounding communities for single family residential properties and continue to be competitive for new developers. City Manager Shea Charles described it as an evolving rate structure relying more on usage fees than on tap fees, and tap fees have not increased in 16 or 17 years. He added that there has also been a decrease in water usage REU’s due to water saving devices. (JM)