The Columbia City Council voted unanimously to increase water rates at its meeting Monday evening.

Base rates will increase by 4% on a staggered basis. The average rate increase for residents is $2.58.

Several citizens spoke out against the tariff increase during the public hearing.

“I think you should talk about how you really understand your rental housing stock, and I think you shouldn’t vote on these water rate increases or do anything about them until you understand the dilemma you have with your water provider, and there are several,” said Columbia resident Traci Wilson-Kleekamp.

Julie Ryan, activist and co-founder of the COMO Safe Water Coalition, said the city needs to develop plans to complete overdue projects before raising fees.

“Voters and taxpayers are looking at this and want to see action and projects realized that have been on hold for far too long,” Ryan said.

However, a member of Columbia Water and Light’s advisory board points out that the utility will likely need more money to complete these overdue projects.

“Nobody likes a price increase. But what people like even less is a failing water utility whose water quality is poor. And the first step to poor water quality is not spending enough money on maintaining infrastructure,” said David Switzer.

The tariff increase will come into effect in October 2024.

New fire chief

At the beginning of the meeting, Brian Schaeffer was sworn in as the new fire chief of Columbia.

The city announced in July that it would hire Schaeffer as its next fire chief after former chief Clayton Farr Jr. retired in March.

According to previous reporting by KOMU 8, Schaeffer was one of four candidates for the job and is a native of Spokane, Washington. He served as deputy fire chief and fire chief of the Spokane Fire Department from 2005 to 2024. Before that, he served as deputy fire chief in Yakima, Washington.

New council member of the first district

Valerie Carroll was also sworn in as the new representative of the first district during Monday’s meeting. Carroll ran unopposed in the August 6 primary election.

Carroll announced her candidacy for the post on her Facebook page in April after the recall of former City Councilor Nick Knoth was overturned.

Some First Ward members felt Knoth had a conflict of interest after taking a job with Missouri Realtors, a group that lobbies state government on behalf of the real estate industry.

According to previous KOMU 8 reporting, Carroll is currently a chemist at the University of Missouri and is in her second term as a member of Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commission. She has lived in Columbia since 2002, when she began her undergraduate studies at MU.