Jefferson PUD cost of service study suggests increases

PORT TOWNSEND — A new Jefferson County Public Utility District water and sewer rate study shows the current rates are unsustainable.

With costs likely to increase across both utilities in the new year, sewer customers may be most heavily impacted.

“People will not be happy,” Commissioner Jeff Randall said. “But we do have to balance the books.”

During a Dec. 2 PUD commissioners special meeting, Sergey Tarasov, a principal with FCS Group, presented the board with two options for bringing the sewer utility into self-sufficiency. One would raise rates to close the gap starting immediately in 2026 and the other would phase self-sufficiency in with 30 percent increases annually in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

In the second scenario, a 30 percent increase in total revenue in 2026 would have differen