Municipal Economics & Planning designs fair water and sewer rates that are creative, yet defensible.

Municipal Economics & Planning firmly believes water and sewer rates should meet these six criteria: Adequate; Fair; Defensible; Innovative; Responsive; and Understandable. Our goal is to help clients maintain a financially sound and sustainable utility through water and sewer rate structures that generate sufficient revenues, and also ease public acceptance.

We recommend that our clients manage their water and sewer rates with small, frequent adjustments in order to keep rates stable and customers happy. In addition to frequent rate reviews, we firmly believe in long-term planning, for both infrastructure system planning and financial analysis. Designing a good financial plan is not about accounting for past transactions, it is about planning for the future.

Known for our creative problem solving, Municipal Economics & Planning prides ourselves on finding new and better ways for utilities to manage their financial resources. We offer the following services:

Top Ten Ways to Manage Your Water and Sewer Rates

"Municipal Economics & Planning's Top Ten Ways to Manage Your Water Rates and Sewer Rates - without painful increases!"

Cost of Service Studies
    - Customer Demand Projections
    - Operations and Maintenance Expense Budgeting
    - Infrastructure System Planning
    - Revenue Requirements - Cost of Service Allocation

Water and Sewer Rate Design
   - Conservation Rate Design
   - Wholesale Rates
   - Septic and Holding Tank Rates
    - Surcharge Rates for High-Strength Customers

Contested Rate Cases
Utility Creation
Inter-governmental Cooperation
Utility Acquisitions and Mergers
Ordinances and Resolutions
Capital Improvement Financial Planning

City of Fitchburg - Water Conservation Rates

Recognizing the need for water conservation, the City of Fitchburg and Municipal Economics & Planning obtained approval from the Public Service Commission for an innovative four-tiered rate structure.