An increase in rates for those utilizing Wheeling’s municipal water and wastewater systems is, frankly, part of the cost of doing business. It is expensive to maintain those systems — let alone upgrade them. Wheeling City Council members on Tuesday did the responsible thing in voting in new rates, effective Nov. 15, that will allow for upgrades to both systems.

However, what’s missing here is this: the 38% increase for water rates and 38% increase for sewer rates didn’t have to be such a shock.

The city currently has identified about $66 million in projects that need completed in the coming years — about $46 million in sewer projects and $20 million for the city’s water system. This comes at a time when Wheeling and the surrounding communities that utilize the city’s infrastructure are shrinking.

Why does that matter? Consider these numbers from the West Virginia PSC’s annual report of the state’s public utilities:

∫ In 1998, Wheeling’s water system served 14,353 customers. In 2023, the last year for which numbers are available, that same system served 12,836 customers.

∫ In 1998, the city’s sewer system served 13,611 customers. By 2023, the figure was 12,292 customers.

See the issue? Fewer people and businesses are now shouldering more of the burden. If the customer base had simply remained steady for the past 25 years, and the average customer over that timeframe had paid $50 per month combined for water and sewer, that would have generated an additional $21 million for the system, at little to no cost for the city, as the infrastructure to serve those lost customers already is in place. That’s money that would have been paid into the system and theoretically could have reduced this current rate increase.

As we’ve noted previously, Wheeling (and Ohio County) need a real plan for population and business growth. There’s been little to no discussion over the past 18 months on those matters. If things don’t change soon, it’s simply going to mean fewer people shouldering more of the burden.