Home / Events / Amarillo's utility billing transition and the 2026 billing crisis / 4% water/sewer rate increase to repay the AMI loan (reported as taking effect October 2021) Oct 2021 · Related development
4% water/sewer rate increase to repay the AMI loan (reported as taking effect October 2021) A 4% increase on water and sewer bills takes effect, earmarked to repay the smart meter project financing. The City's FY2019/20 budget book instead states the AMI 4% increase took effect October 1, 2019.[1] [2]
What the sources say ⚠ Sources differ A 4% water/sewer rate increase was adopted to repay the smart-meter financing; sources differ on when it took effect.
Reported value 1[2]
Date 2019-10-01 City FY2019/20 budget book
Reported value 2[1]
Date 2021-10-01 Date precision month NewsChannel10 2022, quoting the Director of Utilities
← Oct 1, 2020: 3% water and sewer increase takes effect; automated metering listed among funded projects about 2022: Council approves AMI smart water meter project (~70,000 meters) → Sources 1. Amarillo replacing more than 70,000 traditional water meters with digital system — NewsChannel10 (KFDA), Mar 4, 2022 · retrieved Oct 9, 2026 news 2. City of Amarillo Annual Budget, Fiscal Year 2019-2020 — City of Amarillo, Oct 1, 2019 · retrieved Oct 9, 2026 primary Subject-authored Adopted budget book (re-hosted 2026). Cover notice text is font-garbled in the PDF; the record vote of the governing body is legible. Narrative covers the 2016 bond election and rate history 2008-2020.