Board also adopts rates and charges that include a 3% rate increase
Washington County, Oregon—The Clean Water Services (CWS) Board of Directors voted unanimously on June 17 to adopt the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget and rates and charges, including a 3% rate increase.
The 3% increase will add about $1.95 per month to the average residential customer’s bill starting July 1, 2025. Over the past decade, CWS has maintained a steady and measured approach to rate adjustments, with average annual increases of 3.49%, closely tracking the regional cost-of-living increases. Modest rate increases provide CWS with the resources needed to continue essential sewer and stormwater services while accounting for rising operating costs.
The Board’s adoption of the budget and the rates and charges represents the final step in a multiphase public review process that included direction from the Board to explore what budget adjustments would be needed to reduce the rate increase from the originally proposed 4%.
The CWS Budget Committee — composed of the five-member CWS Board of Directors and five community representatives — had urged further discussion of the proposed 4% increase and development a low-income assistance program when they voted on May 23 to approve the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget and recommend it for adoption by the Board.
Terry Song, a community member who chaired this year’s CWS Budget Committee and serves as chair of the Clean Water Services Advisory Commission, shared reflections on the budget process during the June 17 hearing. “I appreciated the work of my fellow budget committee members and CWS staff to ensure a rigorous and transparent process to support the people, businesses, and environment of urban Washington County,” Song said. “We continue to look to the future to meet the changing needs of the community as well as our changing landscape, including an exploration of low-income assistance for ratepayers. This year’s budget includes carefully prioritized, sequenced, and needed capital investments, and a focus on the core work.”
Clean Water Services (CWS) is a county service district organized under Oregon Revised Statute 451. CWS works with Washington County and 12 partner cities to provide sewer and stormwater services in the urban areas of the Tualatin River Watershed. The CWS Board of Directors is made up of elected officials who also serve as Washington County Commissioners
