Mantua council adopts increases to water, garbage and recycling rates

The Mantua Town Council adopted increases to the town's culinary water, garbage collection and recycling rates during a public hearing on July 16, voting to make the changes effective the same day and directing that the changes appear on the August bill.

Ron Wallace, Mantua's finance manager, told the council the town's refuse contractor has raised its charges and the town's net income from utility funds has been "very tight," prompting the proposed adjustments. For garbage and recycling, Wallace said the town's current standard charges are $14 for garbage (with additional-can fees of $14) and $7 for recycling; the proposal presented to the council raised those amounts to $16, $16 for an additional can and $8 for recycling, respectively.

Wallace also presented a proposed increase to the water rate structure, including a rise in the base charge (presented as an increase from 31 to 35 in the materials) and higher per-tier charges. In his presentation he listed Tier 1 rising from $1.25 to $1.50 and cited larger percentage increases for the mid tiers; he said the town has not increased water rates in several years and needs additional revenue to cover operating costs and planned capital work such as wells and water storage.

A council member summarized expected household impacts based on the town's usage distribution: roughly 69% of customers pay only the base charge, 15% fall into Tier 1, 9% into Tier 2, 4% into Tier 3 and 3% into Tier 4. That analysis, presented during the hearing, estimated that about 70% of residents would see an increase of roughly $4 on their bill, with larger increases limited to high-volume users.

During public comment and follow-up questions, a resident expressed concern that county recycling was being sent to landfill rather than processed locally. The resident said she believed local recycling "just goes out to the dump." Council and staff responses said the town's contractor (referred to in the hearing as the Conaways) performs a separation/processing step and that the town will follow up to clarify the recycling handling and local availability.

After discussion about how tiered charges and gallon counts will appear on resident bills, the council moved to formal votes. Committee member S8 moved to approve the water rate increases as presented (resolution cited in the hearing as Resolution number 202607Dash1680); the motion passed with all recorded members voting in favor. Committee member S5 moved to accept amended garbage and recycling fees (Resolution 2026-07-16A, amending Resolution 2023-1-9A); that motion was seconded and passed. Finally, the council adopted an amended town summary of fees effective 07/16/2026.

Votes at a glance: The council recorded unanimous approval on the three action items during the July 16 hearing. The council specified the billing change will appear on the August bill and adjourned the public hearing the same evening.

The council did not specify individual dollar-by-gallon examples in the adopted materials during the hearing; members asked staff to provide clearer bill formatting (a line showing gallons and tier computations) in future statements so residents can compare current and new charges. The council also said it will address water conservation at an upcoming public works meeting.

The Mantua Town Council closed the hearing and adjourned the meeting after the votes; staff will implement the changes on the August billing cycle, with the resolutions effective 07/16/2026 as recorded.