Sewer rates will go up 5 percent a year for four years if the Missoula City Council approves an increase at its Monday meeting.

"We're still going to have really low rates compared to everyone else in Montana," said Councilwoman Stacy Rye.

The current semi-annual charge for one residence is $68.99. In 2012, the cost would be $83.87 if the council approves the increase. The higher uptick hits all users - residential, commercial and industrial.

The bump was slated to take place last year, but Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Bender said the city delayed it. That's because the project to run more sewer lines up the Rattlesnake wasn't happening then, and neither were improvements to the headworks at the plant.

"We all recognized neither one of those projects were proceeding last year at that time," Bender said.

But he also said there are other reasons for the rate hike: "The more we reviewed the budget, we recognized our revenues were not keeping up with our expenses of just operation. So it warranted an increase simply on that basis."

The increase got pushback in committee from minority members, who called for a smaller hike, according to Councilman Bob Jaffe's listserv. One also pointed to a possible unintended consequence, where the bigger fee shuts down businesses, which then don't contribute anything at all to the fund.

Rye, the Administration and Finance Committee's chairwoman, said the money is needed for upkeep and maintenance. She said maintaining the plant isn't getting any cheaper, and the equipment is costly. But some changes need to happen, including ones at the headworks, where waste comes into the treatment center.

"We're going to make sure it doesn't stink," she said.

In his listserv, Councilman Bob Jaffe noted the current monthly rate in Missoula is $11.50. In Butte, it's $13.50; in Billings, it's $18.50; in Great Falls, it's $21.50.

In the future, Rye said city staff will explore ways to charge people more on their use, such as basing a bill on the water meter: "So if you're a family of one, you can end up paying a lot less than a family of 10."

Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262, keila.szpaller@missoulian.com or on MissoulaRedTape.com.