KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Starting in April, Liberty residents will see their utility bills rise by 4.27% for the average household.
For an average household using 5,353 gallons of water and 3,900 gallons of wastewater a month, the increase will add $5.80 to their monthly bill.
The rate changes include a 4% increase for water, a 1% increase for wastewater and a 14% increase for solid waste.
"I’d rather have small, manageable increases as opposed to one large increase on an infrequent basis," Andy Noll said.
Noll is the utilities director for the City of Liberty.
"Everything you see here has just gone up," Noll said, pointing at the equipment and materials used by his department.
The city has to pay for rising costs just like everyone else, Liberty Finance Director Vicki McClure told KSHB 41 News Liberty reporter, Fernanda Silva
City leaders say the increase is not related to the data center coming to Liberty.
"This is just purely our operational cost increases to operate our own water and wastewater treatment plants," McClure said.
The city cited several rising expenses driving the rate hike.
Chemical costs at the water plant have increased 49% since 2023. Water plant maintenance costs are up 63% and well field maintenance costs have risen 64% over the same period as the city's equipment aged and needed costly repairs, according to city officials.
Liberty city officials also noted increased costs for repair items like clamps, water meters and fire hydrants and the need to offer competitive salaries to retain staff.
"So we can keep dedicated people — keep them around as well," Noll said.
According to the city, the extra revenue will help fund 2026 capital projects, including a 24-inch, resilient water plant distribution main, the Mississippi Water Main Replacement, physical cleaning of two wells, rebuilding pumps and replacing disinfection storage tanks at the water plant.
But the increase can come as a burden for some residents.
"It is a big concern," said Heidi Wynn, a Liberty resident. "Everything’s going up, but there's nothing we can do," Wynn said.
Local businesses are also feeling the impact. Clean Laundry plans to raise its prices in the spring to counter the higher utility costs.
"It’ll affect us a lot," said Stephenie Gordon, manager at Clean Laundry. "I think we're getting squeezed from every aspect right now for sure in the economy."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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