The Indianola City Council approved a $1 increase in sewer base rates and a $1 increase to the usage fees at their meeting Monday,

Mayor Steve Richardson tells KNIA News the city needs to be prepared for rising costs in both equipment and operation.

“We get a lot of things from overseas, a lot of our equipment and parts and those kinds of things, some of our chemicals come from overseas as well. We are concerned about some of the tariffs and what that may do to us. But more importantly, the real issue for us is we needed to raise the base rate because the operational costs of our facility are pretty high because it is a new facility. So we have to make sure we cover those as required by law.”

Richardson also said some of the money from the raise in rates will go towards the disposal of the old sewer plant. Councilman Steve Armstrong voted against the rise in rates, which passed in a 4-1 vote. Hear more on today’s Let’s Talk Indianola.