Faced with rising costs and aging infrastructure, Ketchikan City Council raises utility rates
Posted by Eric Stone | Feb 19, 2021
KPU Water Division work crews fix a broken water main on Schoenbar Road in July 2019. (Leila Kheiry/KRBD)
Water and power rates are going up in Ketchikan. That’s following a vote by a divided Ketchikan City Council after concerns were raised about steady losses by the city-run utility.
Ketchikan Public Utilities’ water division hasn’t broken even for at least a decade. That’s despite rate increases nearly every year. And KPU’s electric division hasn’t fared much better it’s also been in the red for most of the past decade.
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With federal deadline extended, Ketchikan City Council to consider allocating more to local relief programs
Posted by Eric Stone | Jan 6, 2021
Ketchikan’s Ted Ferry Civic Center. (KRBD)
Ketchikan’s City Council is set to consider allocating more federal COVID relief funds to local programs. That’s after federal lawmakers extended the deadline to spend the aid money until the end of the year. Now, the question is how much to spend on government services and how much to allocate to city residents struggling financially amidst the pandemic.
During budget deliberations, Ketchikan city officials told council members that they needed to find $1.5 million to fill a projected shortfall in the city budget. That’s because officials aren’t sure what the 2021 cruise season will look like. The city depends on sales tax and port fee revenue from cruise tourists to pay for services.
Ketchikan City Council plans to hike electricity and water rates in 2021
Posted by Eric Stone | Dec 21, 2020
Aerial view of Ketchikan (KRBD stock photo).
Electricity and water rates in Ketchikan will likely rise next year. That’s after the City Council approved a budget that takes into account higher utility rates to balance its 2021 spending plan.
There’s good news and bad. The good news is that nobody at the city faces losing their jobs. But as for the bad: utility rates are likely to go up.
Ketchikan mayor Bob Sivertsen says the rise is in anticipation of higher wholesale power rates set by the Southeast Alaska Power Agency.