Residents will likely see utility rate increases of around 5% overall in 2026 after the City Commission saw a first look at city staff’s proposed rates Monday night.
The city broke down the utility funds and recommended rate adjustments while comparing the totals to other similar cities in the area as it continues to plan for the 2026 budget.
Interim City Manager Zack Daniel shared average monthly bills for 2025 to set a baseline for the conversation. On average, Eudora’s average utility bill in 2025 is about $319.19, with $46.70 from water, $53.73 from sewer, $3.64 from stormwater, $195.62 from electric and $19.50 from trash/recycling.
Each utility was also compared against five neighboring cities: Baldwin City, Lawrence, Bonner Springs, De Soto and Tonganoxie.
Water
Eudora’s average water bill for 2025 is $46.70. Baldwin City’s average was $79.40 and Lawrence’s was $62.11. Eudora’s water bills include a $21.72 base fee that covers the first 1,000 gallons of water used, which explains why the base is higher than some other communities, Daniel said.
In 2025, the city increased water utility rates by 6.5%. For 2026, city staff is recommending a 6.5% adjustment, Daniel said.
The increase would increase the average monthly bill by about $3.
Items included in the 2026 budget related to this fund include programmable logic controller upgrades (which helps with the system’s automation), upgrades totaling $84,000, a new vac truck purchase for $133,410 and the design for the new water treatment plan estimated at $1.2 million.
Mayor Tim Reazin asked if there would be other costs associated with the process for the water treatment design.
Daniel said that is what the city budgeted for next year, and Public Works Director Branden Boyd said they would know more about costs in eight or nine months as they are in the initial due diligence stage of the project.
Boyd also confirmed the department is continuing to apply for grants related to funding for the water treatment project.
Sewer
Eudora’s average monthly bill for 2025 is $53.73. Eudora has a base fee of $34.34 with a $6.46 usage fee. In 2025, this rate increased 9%. City staff is recommending an 8% adjustment this year, increasing the average bill about $4.
Expenditures from this fund include new UV lights used to disinfect sewage for $25,000, a Meadowlark pump station estimated at $225,000 and Hunter’s Ridge lift station also at $225,000.
Electric
Eudora’s average monthly bill for electricity in 2025 is about $195.62. This is on the higher end compared to the other cities, but less than Baldwin City’s average of $235. In 2025, rates increased by 3.5%. The city is recommending a rate increase of 5% for 2026, but Daniel said they are continuing to weigh budget needs. He said it would be unlikely it would be less than 5%, though.
City Commissioner Roberta Lehmann said since Eudora buys energy from Evergy and vends it to customers itself, rather than many of the compared cities that come directly from Evergy, the city has its own linemen who take care of lines after power outages during storms.
“I respect that we’re a little higher than those other ones, but I’m also very respectful that we have our own crews that go out and get us up much quicker than other communities that have to rely solely on Evergy to wait for the lineman to come out. So, to me, I feel like that’s a real big benefit for the city,” Lehmann said.
Baldwin has its own electric team but still relies on Evergy, Boyd said.
Expenditures related to this fund includes substation development of $400,000, Winchester substation circuit for $137,500 and Winchester second feeder for $165,000.
Although the city has ongoing projects related to utility infrastructure, staff wants to make sure rate adjustments are moving at a similar pace compared to previous years, Daniel said.
“We want to have steady adjustments so we are covering our costs and moving forward with our major projects, but also not giving folks sticker shock,” Daniel said.
The city also has to continue to plan for changes related to Evergy’s interest in adding to their infrastructure unless it decides to completely take over the substation, thus buying it from Evergy, Commissioner Alex Curnes said. That would make the city less beholden to whatever Evergy decides rate increases and charges related to infrastructure upgrades will be, he said.
Boyd said the city is locked in with Evergy rates until 2028 but at that point the city can buy the services of the substation from Evergy.
Reazin agreed with Curnes saying it doesn’t make sense to pay for Evergy increases when it could make regular and consistent debt payments on their own substation.
Residents also may ask why Eudora doesn’t just let Evergy handle electricity completely, resulting in potentially lower rates, but the revenue the city makes has a significant impact on general fund operations, Daniel said.
Overall, in 2025, Eudora’s utility bills compared to other cities are on the higher side, with $319 compared to $413 in Baldwin City, $315 in Lawrence, $292 in Bonner Springs, $253 in Tonganoxie and $252 in De Soto.
With the proposed increases, the average utility bill will be about $336 in 2026, representing about a 5% increase over 2025, Daniel said.
Reazin said the city needs to do better this year at educating the public about the overall increase, and that it isn’t accurate to just add the percent increases from each utility to get a new percent increase overall.
No action was taken Monday and the city will continue to share more information about how things will change and why before the commission approves this item, Daniel said.
The city is not recommending any changes to the current stormwater or trash/recycling rates, Daniel said.
Daniel also shared metrics related to property tax levy and city property taxes for a $350,000 homeowner.
The following data shows county mill levy comparisons. Douglas County has a higher mill levy than Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties. Daniel also said this is impacted by the bond issue approved by voters for the school district.
In other business, the city also approved a resolution that designated new property as an option for future reinvestment housing incentive district interest. Developers are putting together a land-use application for the Holladay property, so this resolution includes that lot as well as a small section near Acorn Park.
Daniel said depending how the project shakes out, there may be a possible land swap discussed down the line to move the project along. It would give the city additional green space for park development.
The process is in its early stages so all the motion did was give the city the opportunity to have future discussion about implementing a district for these additional areas.
The meeting was followed by a brief work session to discuss changes to the city’s lightpole standards. Boyd said the city had previously discussed changing the wood poles to a more standardized aluminum pole for not only commercial but residential developments.
In addition to the new standards that have been updated, the city wants to update the existing ones to match those downtown and at Nottingham, he said. Boyd has already let the developers for Shadow Ridge know that this change would be coming as they continue to plan for further building.
Boyd said he wanted to present the poles to the commission before passing them on to the developer.
Curnes said he was in favor of uniformity and anything that brings more branding to the city.
Lehmann said the ones at Nottingham’s Village Green area are very bright and said it would be nice to have those on the trails, too.
During staff and commissioner comments, Mayor Tim Reazin asked if the city could do a sign study to map out signs needing updates or removal. Lehmann said there is a sign on Elm telling people they cannot park on the street from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., because while it used to be a bus stop it no longer is.
Police Chief Wes Lovett said he would work with Boyd to figure out what all needs to be taken out.
Daniel said that the developers working on the Holladay property hope to have something before the Planning Commission before the end of the year.
Fire Chief Justin Lee said the department is planning an open house the morning of Oct. 4 to kick off Fire Safety Week. Lee also invited the sheriff’s office, police and Kansas Forestry to help educate kids.
Parks and Rec Director Sally Pennington said there are two more weeks of normal pool hours before it will be weekend only Aug. 10. Another Dive-In Movie will be Aug. 8. Registration for fall sports is open now, she said. They have taught swimming lessons to 400 kids in two summers, Pennington said.