Water bills for Glenview customers will most likely be going up Jan. 1.
The increase is part of a series of changes tentatively approved Nov. 18 by the Village Board. Final approval is expected on Dec. 2.
According to the village, the cost of water will increase by 3.5%, from $7.77 per 1,000 gallons of water used to $8.02 per 1,000 gallons. Sewer fees will increase 6.25% from $1.57 per 1,000 gallons of water used to $1.67 per 1,000 gallons.
Water customers are billed each quarter.
Each customer also pays a fixed water rate and a fixed sewer rate each quarter based on the size of their water meter, and these fees will also increase.
According to the village, the fixed rate charge for meters one inch in diameter or smaller will increase by $1 per billing period.
Buildings with larger meters will pay between $7.76 and $63.51 more per quarter, based on the size. Meters between 1.5 inches in diameter and 8 inches in diameter pay higher fixed water and sewer rates than residents with smaller meters.
Glenview Finance Manager Jessica Spitzer said personnel and contractual costs are the largest expenditures in the village’s water and sewer fund. Capital projects related to water service are paid for through the fund, as is infrastructure maintenance. Each year, the village sets a goal of replacing one mile of water main, Spitzer said.
The 2025 municipal budget contained $10.4 million for water and sewer infrastructure maintenance and improvement projects, according to information from the village.
The fund also pays for the outsourcing of repairs to broken water mains, which reflects one of the increases in the water fund for 2026, said Deputy Village Manager Maggie Bosley.
Glenview purchases Lake Michigan water from the village of Wilmette, and that cost is passed along to Glenview residents.
“They have not increased their rate (charged) to us,” Bosley said of Wilmette during an October budget workshop with village trustees.
Water and sewer rates are reviewed annually, according to the village.
Bosley told the trustees that, compared to other area communities, Glenview water bills are “on the lower end” for sewer rates and “in the middle to bottom” for water consumption charges. She acknowledged that some communities structure their rates differently than Glenview, so it is “not always an apples to apples comparison.”
Residents of unincorporated Glenview will see their water rates increase from $11.69 per 1,000 gallons to $12.07 per 1,000 gallons, and see their sewer rates increase from $1.57 per 1,000 gallons to $1.67 per 1,000 gallons, according to the village.
Several other fee increases that involve community development projects and fire hydrants are set to take effect next year as well, and commercial sign permit costs will increase by $50 for illuminated and non-illuminated signs. Multi-tenant signs with a “new illuminated face” will increase by $100, from $50 to $150.
One fee that will actually decrease is the cost of an ambulance. The resident fee is scheduled to drop by $51, from $2,421 to $2,370 to better reflect actual cost of service, according to the village.
Residents will not need to pay out-of-pocket expenses such as co-pays or deductible fees if they have healthcare insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, the village said.
