URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — The Urbana and Champaign Sanitary District is trying to replenish money they lost from their reserves, so they voted to approve a rate increase on Tuesday.

The district’s board voted to approve the ordinance to raise their rates by 5%. As for how much this will cost taxpayers, Urbana and Champaign Sanitary District’s Executive Director, Rick Manner, said it will be around a $2 increase each bill, and those come every other month.

“During COVID, UCSD’s income went down dramatically,” Manner said.

The district’s income took a hit during the pandemic. Manner said they’ve lost a couple million dollars the last two to three years from their reserves, and that’s because commercial businesses were using less water and people weren’t commuting into workplaces.

Losing reserve money makes the district less stable financially, and Manner said they’re looking to balance their books. They didn’t raise the rates during COVID, so he said now is the time to make up the lost cash.

“So that’s why we’re recommending that we do this 5% increase,” Manner said. “It would generate a net surplus this year. The 5% increase would increase our overall income by about $600,000 for the year.”

He also said this increase is just above the rate of inflation and shouldn’t weigh too heavily on people in the district. The board voted on the proposed increase Tuesday evening during their meeting which started at 5:30 p.m. Since the board voted yes on the ordinance, residents will see the increase starting this summer.