If you live in Roslyn, your water and sewer bill has been going up every year, and it’s going to keep going up through at least 2030. The City passed the rate schedule already, it’s not a proposal, it’s enacted ordinance. This piece breaks down what you’re actually paying, where the number comes from, and what could still push it higher than even this.
If you feel any information on this page is incorrect or out of date, please let us know — corrections are made promptly.
What the City’s Own Ordinance Sets
The rates come from Ordinance No. 1215, passed by the Roslyn City Council on March 25, 2025, effective June 30, 2025. It amends Roslyn Municipal Code sections 13.05.380 (water), 13.10.400 (sewer), and 13.14.030 (storm), and it locks in a specific dollar rate for each year from 2025 through 2030.
For a standard in-town residential customer (one EDU, the City’s billing unit for a single household), here’s the full monthly picture, water, sewer, storm, and the City’s utility tax all added together:
| Year | Water | Sewer | Storm | Tax (16%) | Total/mo | YoY increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $75.63 | $53.73 | $22.05 | $22.70 | $174.11 | — |
| 2026 | $81.68 | $60.70 | $23.52 | $24.95 | $190.85 | +9.61% |
| 2027 | $88.41 | $67.68 | $28.77 | $27.74 | $212.60 | +11.40% |
| 2028 | $95.13 | $74.65 | $34.02 | $30.53 | $234.33 | +10.22% |
| 2029 | $101.86 | $81.63 | $40.32 | $33.45 | $257.26 | +9.79% |
| 2030 | $105.89 | $87.21 | $46.62 | $35.70 | $275.42 | +7.06% |
That’s a 58% increase in the total monthly bill from 2025 to 2030. And it doesn’t stop there: the ordinance also sets a 3% automatic annual increase starting January 1, 2031, already written into the code, no future vote required to trigger it.
How I Verified This
Rather than just quote the ordinance and assume it’s what people actually pay, I checked it against a real City of Roslyn bill for August 2026 service. Every individual line item, the water rate, the sewer rate, the water and sewer reserve charges, the storm rate, and the storm reserve charge, matched the ordinance’s 2026 figures exactly. The reconstructed total also matched the bill’s “Total Current Charges” line to the penny ($190.85).
That check also surfaced something the ordinance itself doesn’t spell out: the City’s utility tax applies only to the three base rate charges (water, sewer, and storm), not to any of the three reserve charges. That distinction is already built into the numbers above.
The 16% Utility Tax Isn’t Part of the Locked-In Rate Schedule
Here’s the part worth paying attention to: the water, sewer, and storm rates are locked in by Ordinance 1215 itself, that part is fixed through 2030. But the 16% utility tax that gets applied on top of those rates comes from a completely separate piece of code, RMC Chapter 3.25 (originally Ordinance 904 in 2000, amended by Ordinance 1188 in 2022). Nothing ties that tax rate to Ordinance 1215’s rate schedule.
That means the City Council could raise, or lower, the utility tax rate at any regular meeting between now and 2030, independent of everything above. If that happens, the real total on your bill would run higher than the numbers in this table, since those numbers all assume the 16% holds steady for the next several years. There’s no guarantee of that, it’s simply the current rate.
State and County Taxes Could Also Add to This
The numbers above account for exactly one tax: the City’s own 16% utility tax. They don’t, and can’t, account for anything the Washington State Legislature or Kittitas County might do in the future. As of the bill I verified this against, there’s no separate state or county tax line on a Roslyn utility bill, this isn’t a hidden charge that already exists. But state and local tax policy changes over time, and neither the City of Roslyn nor this analysis has any control over, or advance notice of, future state legislative action on utility taxation or any new county-level assessment. If either happens, it would stack on top of everything shown here, not replace it.
What Doesn’t Change in This Analysis
- These are standard in-town residential rates for one EDU. Out-of-town residential customers pay more, the ordinance sets a separate, higher table for service outside city limits.
- Washington law (RCW 35.92.020(5)) allows a reduced special rate for elderly, disabled, or low-income ratepayers. That reduced rate isn’t reflected in the numbers above. If it might apply to you, ask the City directly, it’s a real, available discount, not something you’re automatically enrolled in.
Have Questions About Your Own Bill?
The City of Roslyn can walk you through your specific account: (509) 649-3105, or 201 S. 1st Street, Roslyn, WA 98941.
Sources
- City of Roslyn Ordinance No. 1215 (water/sewer/storm rate schedule, 2025-2030)
- Roslyn Municipal Code Chapter 3.25 (utility tax)
- RCW 35.92.020(5) (reduced utility rate for elderly/disabled/low-income ratepayers)
- A City of Roslyn utility bill for August 2026 service, used to verify the rate and tax calculations line by line
