Public Hearing Scheduled For Residents In Osage Beach Over Proposed Water/Sewer Increases

The City of Osage Beach has announced the date for a public hearing to take comments on proposed water and sewer rate increases.

Administrator Jeana Woods says the proposed increases are needed due to how the economy has affected us all…city governments included.

“We’ve not been immune to the same thing everybody’s dealing with, with, you know, unprecedented increase in costs of equipment, materials, labor, you know, so the last couple years have kind of…..Very mismatched with historical trends. So we’ve had to really regroup.”

The proposed changes show a 34% aggregate increase in water rates and an 85% aggregate increase in metered and non-metered sewer rates.

The city’s sewer system was built in the 1980’s and accounted for over 350 million gallons of use in 2023 alone, while the water system was built in the early 2000’s producing nearly 380 million gallons of water.

The public hearing at city hall has been scheduled for 5:30pm on March 21^st just ahead of an expected first reading on the proposed changes by the board of aldermen.