The town of Dolores will hold a public hearing Monday evening on its proposed 2026 budget and a separate plan to raise water rates starting next year through 2030. The hearing gives residents a chance to weigh in before the town board takes a final vote next month.
The hearing will be held during the Board of Trustees’ 5:30 p.m. regular meeting at Town Hall, located at 601 Central Avenue. Town officials say the budgeted $2.2 million reflects investments in town operations and infrastructure, while the proposed rate changes are a “must” not only to overhaul the system but to secure long-term financing.
If approved by the board, base rates for in-town customers using up to 5,000 gallons per household would increase from $44.34 to $47 per month (6%) beginning Jan. 1. Rates for people living outside town limits would rise from $58.58 to $61.76. Additional increases – 5% in 2027, 4% in 2028 and 3% in both 2029 and 2030 – would apply to both base rates and tiered-usage charges.
The resolution also increases sewer rates starting in 2026. For in-town customers, the increase would be from $38.35 to $39.50; out-of-town rates would rise from $60.33 to $62.14, with both including automatic 3% increases through 2030.
Town officials detailed the plan during an Oct. 27 Board of Trustees workshop, describing the increases as a “must-have, not a nice-to-have” to replace water lines they say are increasingly prone to breakage.
Recent ruptures, including old pipes near Ninth Street and Hillside Avenue, forced temporary shutdowns, leaving residents and businesses without water for hours.
“This is a project where in some places we are replacing 75-year lines and in some places 50-year lines,” said town manager Leigh Reeves during the workshop. Phase Two will focus on repairs along First through Sixth streets.
“Interestingly, there was a break on Ninth and Hillside, and the stuff sticking out of there was like ‘What is that?’… In the case of First through Sixth (streets), it’s a good reason to one, do this, because then we have less breaks,” Reeves said.
“We know it’s not fun, we know no one wants to pay more money, but if we don’t do a water-rate increase, and consistently keep it on schedule, we can’t get the loan, keep the loan and it’s going to cost taxpayers significantly more money over the lifetime of this project,” town treasurer and clerk Kelley Unrein said.
Town staff say all increases are needed to keep up with inflation, fund necessary improvements and secure the long-term loan. The increases are tied to Dolores qualifying for a State Revolving Fund loan to finance upcoming phases of the water-line replacement project, estimated at $14 million total. Phase Three would add another water tank and potentially expand to additional streets, Reeves said.
The SRF loan requires Dolores to maintain a 110% debt service coverage ratio, meaning the water fund must bring in $1.10 in reliable annual revenue for every $1 owed in debt.
“If we don’t maintain the 6%, 5%, 4% and then 3% (annual increases), we drop below the 110%, which would put us in default on our loan,” Unrein told trustees. “If we don’t agree to increase rates, we can’t get this loan. If we don’t get this loan, we have to pay more along with higher interest rates.”
Dolores last adjusted water and sewer rates in 2020.
“If you think about over time, $14 million 20 years from now could cost significantly more,” Reeves told the board. “This is where we are and where we need to start because the downtown and this area are the oldest.”
At the workshop, some board members said they agreed the water prices are comparable to or lower than those in surrounding communities.
“It’s a painful adjustment, but I think we can all see it’s pretty necessary,” Unrein said.
Details of the proposed changes, including full tables of water and sewer rates through 2030, are included in the packet posted for the evening’s meeting.
