Palos Park — Baxter & Woodman told the Village of Palos Park Board of Commissioners on Oct. 27 that the village will likely need incremental water and sewer rate increases over the next five years to meet capital‑improvement and reserve goals.

Mark Seifert, a project manager at Baxter & Woodman, said the study—based on roughly a year of work with village staff—was designed to “minimize that cone of uncertainty” about future costs while matching revenue to expected capital needs. He told the board capital projects, meter repairs, SCADA upgrades and a shared regional infrastructure cost were the primary drivers behind proposed rate changes.

The consultant presented two main scenarios. Scenario 1 keeps the current rate structure and phases increases over five years (an illustrative year‑1 water volumetric increase of about 4.2% from $14.25 per 1,000 gallons to $14.85 and larger percentage increases in later years). Scenario 2 replaces the flat volumetric structure with an inclining‑block (tiered) structure that charges higher per‑unit rates for high‑volume usage while keeping or adjusting fixed charges and bond fees.

Baxter & Woodman provided sample billing impacts for typical users. Under Scenario 1, a residential household using 8,000 gallons (bimonthly) would see an illustrative bimonthly increase on the order of $20–$26 by fiscal year 2031. Large commercial users (examples modeled at 150,000 to 350,000 gallons) would face substantially higher bills in both scenarios.

The consultant said the tiered approach aims to address perceived fairness concerns: low‑usage households (including seasonal residents) would pay less overall under some tiers, while high‑volume customers would pay more to reflect the larger infrastructure and pumping capacity they require. Seifert noted the national baseline household use is about 5,000 gallons per month and said the firm used a full year of the village’s billing data to design tiers.

On assumptions, Baxter & Woodman used a 3% baseline annual growth in operating expenses and modeled alternative scenarios including 5% expense growth. In response to a resident question, Seifert said, “we did run scenarios at 5 percent, but based on consultation with staff and our experience the 3 percent range generally reflects what we’re seeing post‑COVID in this region.”

The presentation included cash‑flow and reserve forecasts. Under the presented five‑year paths the water and sewer funds would remain above the village’s operating reserve goal but could dip below the capital reserve target for several years before recovering, depending on the scenario. The consultant emphasized annual review of rates rather than deferring larger, less frequent increases: “Aim small, miss small,” Seifert said.

No formal action was taken on rates at the Oct. 27 meeting. Council members said the presentation was an initial overview and that the board would take additional time to review the scenarios, ask follow‑up questions and hold further sessions before any decision.

The presentation materials and billing models were prepared by Baxter & Woodman; the consultant identified Allison Walls and Carolyn Grieves as technical contributors during the presentation.