MUKWONAGO — Mukwonago residents spoke at another public hearing Tuesday to voice their opposition to a proposed water rate increase, even after the village reduced its original request following community pushback.
The Mukwonago Water Utility initially sought a 65% rate hike that would have increased the average customer's quarterly bill by roughly $75.
After receiving more than 100 public comments, the proposal was lowered to a 46.9% increase, which would still add about $55 to quarterly bills.
Watch: Mukwonago residents push back as village requests reduced water rate hike
The revised proposal includes a two-step implementation with the second phase taking effect once water treatment improvements are completed in late 2026 or early 2027.
Wayne Castle, utilities director for the Village of Mukwonago, said officials took public input seriously and sought ways to reduce the rate increase.
"We took the public input very seriously and looked at the situation to see if ways we could lower the rate increase," Castle said. "My understanding is 4.9 is the lowest return rate that we could request, and that's where we're at with the second hearing."
Castle explained that the Public Service Commission(PSC) requires public water utilities to maintain approved rates of return to continue making improvements, address operational issues, and service debt for projects.
However, residents like Frank Piscitello say the reduced proposal is still too high.
Piscitello, who has lived in his home for about 25 years, said his water bill has been about $400 per quarter.
"We are paying the highest utility bills, the highest grocery bills, and now the village of Mukwonago wants to put more of a burden on its residents, and it's brutal," Piscitello said.
At Tuesday's hearing, residents expressed concerns about making ends meet with the proposed increase, especially after the community recently approved a referendum for a new middle school.
"I can't go to Social Security and ask for a 30% increase because things are going up," one resident said.
Some residents suggested alternatives, including impact fees for new development and delaying infrastructure projects.
Castle said the utility is looking to ease the burden by covering electronic payment fees and exploring new leak policies, including offering breaks to customers when leaks are discovered.
The utility also plans to implement monthly billing in Step 2 to help customers manage costs.
The proposal now goes back to the PSC, which could decide in the next few weeks.
Residents have until Thursday to submit public comments on the proposal’s docket.
This story was reported on-air by Kaylee Staral and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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