Utility rates, mill rates, trail funds, HERC cleanup on agenda

By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent Press

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the Homer City Council will meet on Tuesday, May 26, to update the utility rate structure, approve 2026 property tax mil rates, allocate funds for the new Woodard Canyon Trail and select a cleanup option for the Homer Educational and Recreational Complex (HERC) property.

Public hearings during the 6 p.m. regular meeting will include adjustments to the city’s Fiscal Year 2026/27 Operating Budget, including an update to water and sewer rates. The proposed utility rates are essentially flat with an added minimum-use fee based on 750 gallons per month.

Non-lift and lift-station users both will pay a monthly $12 fee for water use less than 750 gallons. Non-lift station users will pay a $14 monthly fee and lift station users will pay a $23 monthly fee for sewer use less than 750 gallons.

An increase to 20% from 15% of total operating expenditures will be transferred to the water and sewer Capital Asset Repair and Maintenance Allowance (CARMA) Fund to build up reserves for future investments in utility infrastructure.  

Two resolutions will set the city’s 2026 property tax mill levy rates to the same as 2025 –— 4.5 mills citywide and 1 mill for the Ocean Drive Loop Special Service District. A tax of 1 mill is $100 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

A new ordinance will be introduced to appropriate funds from the Homer Accelerated Roads and Trails (HART) Fund for the planning and design of the Woodard Canyon Trail. The approximately 1 mile trail above Karen Hornaday Park was approved by council in January 2026. 

Flannery Ballard of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation will update the council on the project to clean up and restore the contaminated land at the HERC site off the Sterling Highway. 

The council plans to select a cleanup option for the HERC property — to demolish the smaller HERC 2 building and delay a cleanup decision on the larger building.

In a 4 p.m. Worksession and 5 p.m. Council of the Whole, the council will discuss the status of the Multi-Use Community Recreation Center. In October 2025, the council selected two city-owned lots near Pioneer Avenue and Main Street as the preferred site for an indoor municipal recreational and community space. 

Full information is available on the city web site for how to get complete agendas and supporting documents, submit written testimony and attend meetings in person, via Zoom or by phone. 

All Homer city council meetings are open to the public at the Cowles Council Chambers at City Hall, 491 E. Pioneer Ave. The regular meeting is broadcast live at 6 p.m. on KBBI public radio AM 890.