SHELBY - Nearly 30 community members gathered at The Ladder Community Center in Shelby Thursday, Jan. 29 to hear from members of the Michigan Rural Water Association (MRWA), who had recently completed rate studies for the village’s water and sewer operations.
Village council member and chairman of the village’s Water & Sewer Committee, Curt Trott, opened the meeting and introduced Joe VanDommelen, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Training Specialist from MRWA.
VanDommelen began by sharing a spreadsheet with numerous columns and numbers, “This is really just one big math problem. We plug the numbers in, and the program spits out the data.”
VanDommelen explained that MRWA is a nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance to rural communities with a population of 10,000 or less. The water and sewer rate study was provided free of charge to the village. The U.S. government provides the funding needed, ultimately saving the village upwards of $20,000.
Currently, village water customers are charged a “base water rate” according to the size of the water line entering a house or business. Currently regular water customers are charged a base rate of $15.62 a month. The proposed base rate increase would be $18.18, a 17 percent increase or an extra $2.56 per month.
In addition, users are billed based on their water usage each month. Each “water unit” is currently billed out at $3.04 per unit. The proposed increase would bill out at $3.53 a unit, a 16 percent increase or $0.49 more per unit.
The current village “base sewer rate” is $27.26 a month. Proposed base sewer rate increases would make the base rates $30.02 a month, a 10 percent increase of $2.76 per month.
“Sewer unit” rates are presently $3.66 a month. The rate study proposes a 19 percent increase of $.70, making the monthly sewer unit rate $4.36.
With regard to the water line extension to Peterson Farms housing on Baseline Road, the current agreement between the village and Peterson Farms sets their water rates at 1.5 times what village residents pay. This higher rate is meant to ensure funds are available for future water pipeline maintenance, repair and replacement going to the property.
MRWA uses historical data to determine how much water an entity will see in any given fiscal year. The numbers in the presentation were based on what is proposed in the village’s Fiscal Year 26-27 budget. That budget is still being finalized and will be presented to council for approval on or around February 9, 2026.
Even before the rate study presentation was finished, community members were anxious to ask questions and provide comments.
Resident Ben Michalko asked if the income from Shelby Acres will offset the increased rates. VanDommelen explained, “The more customers you can have on your system, in the long run is going to result in lower rates.”
Michalko asked a follow-up question, “If there were no Shelby Acres, would we still (be looking at) a rate increase?”
Per VanDommelen, the answer was “Yes.”
Then he added, “This is a catch-up,” meaning that even though the village has done due diligence by slowly increasing water and sewer rates over the past several years, the increases have not been enough to keep pace with what the state says a municipality of their size should have in reserves.
He further explained, “You are making enough money (with current rates) for regular expenses. You are paying the bills with a small amount set aside for the future. But the idea is to have money in the bank to replace and repair infrastructure when it breaks. There are laws and regulations that require how much a municipality should have set aside. And to be honest, many municipalities aren’t charging enough. You aren’t the only one who doesn't have enough in their (water and sewer) reserves."
“Water and sewer systems are not trying to make a profit. In years when there aren’t any expenses, money would continue to come in. It is important to have money for expenses and repairs when needed. Otherwise you will have to borrow and pay interest on a loan, not to mention losing services and having downtime. The increases are meant to keep pace, keep it running and functional,” VanDommelen said. “You’re not in financial trouble. Sometimes it's a 100 percent increase. Fortunately for Shelby, it won’t be anywhere near that.”
Another audience member added, “If we don’t do this, we’re just kicking the can down the road. It's the economy of scale. Eventually that catches up with you.”
When asked how often a water study should be done, VanDommelen said, “It depends on how much needs to be done and what changes are made to rates, but generally it is recommended a study be done every five years. It would be easy if it was money in, money out. But it (the study) calculates all the variables. Most of the time, communities don’t know what goes into running a water/sewer system. Even if you never grew, you still need to maintain the system and replace equipment when it wears out."
Resident Phil Carter shared his concerns for small businesses and how increased rates will affect them and their customers. He also wanted to know what the village’s pumping capacity was. Referencing the recent apartment fire in the village, his concern was if the village adds more water customers, will the village be able to fight fires.
Village Administrator Phil Morse addressed that concern saying the village now has four wells versus only two just a few weeks ago. Since that fire, one well has been refurbished, and another new well has been brought online.
According to VanDommelen, the village has enough water capacity to fight a large home fire without much of a problem, which is unusual for a community of its size. Councilman Trott added that the village has utilized mutual aid agreements in the past with other fire departments when it comes to fighting larger fires.
Morse took the floor toward the end of the meeting to respond to some of the other questions that were raised. Studies completed prior to the Baseline Road Apartment water line extension, engineers determined the village was only using 13 percent of its existing well capacity. Even with the addition of the Baseline Road apartments and Shelby Acres, village wells are still under 20 percent of their total capacity.
Morse addressed the Sewer Fund increases by telling those gathered that currently there is a modest $330,000 in the sewer reserves fund. “Lagoon cleaning will need to be completed in another eight years, and that alone is estimated to cost $800,000. 1970 was the last upgrade of our sewer system and was funded in large part by the government. The government’s not doing that anymore, so we need to be setting aside money ourselves.”
Ideally, the village would like to have $1 million in sewer reserve funds, he added.
Morse went on to address complaints he’s heard about Shelby’s water and sewer rates being higher than other municipalities. He referred to a list he had handed out prior to the meeting that had been compiled by the city manager in Lowell. “Shelby is in the lower two-thirds of the list,” Morse said. “And having Shelby Acres and Baseline Road homes as customers is good for us. It’s more people sharing the expense. Water systems are expensive, and we need that cushion. This money is not going to pay for downtown arches. Water and Sewer operations are like their own separate businesses within the village.”
When asked why the village waived the tap fee for the township’s new Tiger Athletic Community Complex now being built at the Shelby Township Community Park, Morse replied, “We waived the tap fee ($39,326) as our contribution to a project that will benefit a lot of our residents. The water for restrooms and fire suppression will be paid for by the township going forward.”
Another audience member noted how Hart’s rates were lower than Shelby’s and that it is common knowledge that Shelby has always had high rates. “Are we shooting ourselves in the foot? With another 15 percent increase, will homes be hard to sell?”
VanDommelen told the group that it’s never an “apples to apples” comparison. Every community has different needs and variables that come into play. The City of Hart has two large industries that use a lot of water, especially during peak harvest seasons. It’s another case in point: the more users on a system, the more costs can be spread out over all users.
Not completely related to the water rate increases, another community member wished to address Morse about his wanting Shelby to be “safe, well-maintained and appealing” but she felt her water was not “appealing,” saying it smells like chlorine, tastes awful and that she has had to buy a water filtration system to make it drinkable. “We’re paying for things we can’t use.”
VanDommelen responded, saying that he often hears complaints about water quality and generally, bad-smelling and bad-tasting municipal water can be rectified if the DPW is made aware of the problem. “If your water smells like chlorine, it actually means there is not enough chlorine in it, which is a common problem in the summer when water is warmer and the chlorine is reacting to other things in your water already.”
He encouraged residents to reach out to the village DPW for assistance, saying if they are made aware, he knows there are things that can be done to fix the situation.
While those present weren’t elated at the idea of the rate increases, it appeared by the end of the meeting they had a greater understanding of the village’s water and sewer operations, and were able to have their questions answered.
Water rate increases will be considered by the Shelby Village Council at their regularly scheduled meeting Monday, February 9, 2026 beginning at 6 p.m. To stay up to date on this and other village business, residents are invited to attend council meetings held the second and fourth Mondays of every month at 6 p.m., to read articles published in The Oceana Echo or sign up for village notifications and updates on the village’s website, www.shelbyvillage.com. Information is available, and dialogue between leaders and constituents makes for a more informed community.
According to a “Water and Sewer Rate Comparison” list of communities with a population of 8000 or less, City of Hart residents pay $262.64 quarterly for water while Pentwater residents pay $433.80.
