Elgin weighs utility-rate reset to rebuild negative water fund
City of Elgin, Texas · Meeting date: October 13, 2026 · Published: October 14, 2026
Elgin’s proposed revised water and wastewater rate schedule is intended to establish reserves for major maintenance after years of deferred work, according to staff. The supplied meeting transcript does not record a final vote on the ordinance.
Key points
- The proposed ordinance would adopt revised water and wastewater rates and fees based on a utility rate study prepared by NextGen.
- Staff said the study set out a five-year utility-rate plan designed to build utility-fund reserves for major maintenance.
- Elgin has not increased utility rates since 2021, and staff said the utility fund is currently in an overall negative position.
- Staff cited deferred maintenance including cleaning aeration basins at the wastewater treatment plant and rehabilitating the mothballed Pistol Hill storage facility, which has about 400,000 gallons of storage.
Full report
Elgin City Council has begun considering a revised water and wastewater rate structure intended to return its utility fund to a position where it can finance major maintenance rather than defer it or rely on long-term borrowing.
The October 13 meeting agenda included an ordinance to adopt revised utility rates and fees based on a study by NextGen. Staff described the study as a five-year plan intended to build utility-fund reserves sufficient to cover large, ongoing maintenance work.
The city’s utility fund is currently in an overall negative position, staff told council. Elgin has not raised utility rates since 2021, while the council retains the decision each year on whether to increase any part of the tariff.
Staff said past deferrals have shifted routine facility work into capital-funded projects. Examples include cleaning aeration basins at the wastewater treatment plant and cleaning and upgrading the Pistol Hill storage facility so it can return to service. The facility, which has been mothballed, holds about 400,000 gallons.
The acting city manager also contrasted the proposed reserve-building approach with historical financing practices, saying the city had previously taken 30-year USDA loans simply to repaint tanks. Such work would generally be funded from the utility fund, staff said.
Elgin’s water tariff is structured separately for single-family residential, commercial and irrigation customers, while sewer rates distinguish between single-family residential and commercial users. The material supplied does not give the proposed rate levels or effective date, and the transcript ends during staff’s presentation; it therefore does not record whether the council adopted the ordinance.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council Regular Meeting , City of Elgin