‘Pay me now or pay me later’ sewer rate increase faces Branson

On September 23, 2025, the Branson Board of Aldermen (Board) began considering the water and sewer rates for 2026 for customers receiving water and sewer service from the City of Branson. The initial rate proposal includes a 20% increase in water rates and a 15% increase in sewer rates for “residential” customers, and a 20% increase in water rates and a 15% increase in sewer rates for “commercial” customers.

Following two hours of intense discussion, the Board made, seconded and passed, by voice vote, a motion to postpone the topic until the next regular board of aldermen meeting so that it could gather additional information. The Board wants a prioritized list of projects so they can identify the lowest priority projects that would be cut if the rate increases were “shaved off.” The next Board meeting is on October 14, 2025, at 6 p.m.

On October 6, 2025, during a joint meeting of the Board and the city’s Finance Committee on the 2026 Budget, Utilities Director Kendall Powell provided detailed information on the Utilities Department’s 2026 budget and the critical infrastructure projects for 2026 and beyond. It did not involve any specific discussion of the 2026 sewer rates.

Below are questions and answers from the information given out at those two meetings:

What are the original proposed rate increases? For water services, a 20% increase for both residential and commercial accounts. For sewer services, there is a 15% increase for both residential and commercial accounts.

Why have local sewer and water rates historically been lower in Branson compared to neighboring communities? The rates have been kept lower largely because the city uses its Tourism Tax to help pay for large infrastructure projects, which offsets costs that residents in other towns must cover through their bills.

Why are utility rate increases necessary in the first place? To address rising operational costs and fund essential capital projects to ensure service reliability.

What are the rising operating costs: The costs for utilities, particularly electric, are projected to increase by roughly $400,000 in the budget due to rate increases from Liberty Electric utility company (utility costs rose 25% to 28% from 2023 to 2026). The costs for chemicals have increased by 33%, and the costs for treatment supplies have risen by 300%.

What are the “Essential Capital Projects? They fall into two main categories: Large Capital (typically funded by the tourism fund for expansion) and Small Capital (funded by the rate increase for maintenance and replacement of existing components). The proposed rate increase affects funding for the “small capital” projects, totaling approximately $4 million for 2026.

What are the Small Capital Expenditures the rate increase will cover? The proposed rate increase covers $4 million in “small capital” projects, which the Tourism Tax does not cover. These essential expenses focus on maintaining and replacing existing components of the water and sewer infrastructure to ensure service reliability, prevent system failures and avoid costly reactive maintenance.

An example of what “reactive maintenance” is: The emergency failure of a force main in the Fall Creek Valley resulted in unbudgeted costs of over $300,000 for pumping and repair costs. This failure was on a force main that had “pushed down the road for several years to have it replaced” due to funding issues.