Arkoma mayor says sewer rate hike is ‘unsustainable'

Yahoo

18-05-2025

ARKOMA, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The mayor of Arkoma is speaking out against a 300% increase in sewer rates from the City of Fort Smith, which treats Arkoma's wastewater.
In February 2025, the Fort Smith Board of Directors approved a 3.5% annual increase in sewer rates, effective June 1, 2025, continuing through 2030.
Arkoma initially anticipated its wastewater rate to rise from $2.69 to approximately $2.78 per hundred cubic feet (CCF), according to the town's mayor Josh Johnson. Instead, Arkoma was notified of a new rate of $8.75 per CCF, a more than 300% increase, charged at a retail rate typically for individual Fort Smith customers.
As a wholesale customer, Arkoma handles collection and transmission for its residents and relies on Fort Smith for treatment.
'Arkoma is not a single household; we are a community of more than 600 wastewater customers… a retail rate [is] not only inappropriate, but unsustainable,' Johnson said in a statement.
Fort Smith's rate increase will add about $2 monthly per customer for 30,000 locals, generating $45,000, while Arkoma's 600 residents face a $62,000 monthly increase, according to Johnson.
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Arkoma representatives attended a Fort Smith planning session on May 13. According to Johnson, these efforts were met with limited communication and no agreement.
'The Town of Arkoma cannot absorb this increase, nor can it reasonably pass it on to our residents without causing serious economic harm.'
Arkoma claims it has invested nearly $2 million in wastewater system improvements over the past four years, funded through grants, a per capita investment it says exceeds Fort Smith's during the same period.
Johnson also addressed claims related to unpaid balances stemming from a 2019 flood that increased metered flows. Arkoma reports reducing the outstanding balance from over $200,000 to approximately $120,000, with a portion attributed to late fees.
'Although Fort Smith has requested that we provide a formal payment plan, despite repeated outreach by our Administrator and City Attorney to establish a payment plan, we received no response from Fort Smith,' Johnson said.
When the rate increase was approved in March, the City of Fort Smith said that 'these… adjustments are necessary to help fund Consent Decree projects and sustain the ongoing operations of the Water Utilities Department, including routine maintenance and debt service coverage.'
KNWA/FOX24 has reached out to the City of Fort Smith for comment and have not yet received a response.
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