Category: kmiz-local-news

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council tabled a vote on proposed water rate increases for fiscal year 2026.

The council discussed the proposal during Monday nights meeting and heard public comments. According to the city, the proposed changes would increase water utility revenue by 12%. However, despite the increase City of Columbia expects water bills to decrease for 65% of residential customers.

The city conducted a cost-survey study to evaluate whether current water rates were keeping up with expenses. Columbia Utilities spokesman Jason West said the increase needed to keep up with rising costs.

“Lines, personnel and paying people to work for the water department,” West said. “All of that keeps increasing and so to help to stay ahead of that and be able to have competitive salaries; to be able to have modern technology and not offset needed infrastructure maintenance, then there needed to be a revenue increase to stay on top of those things,”

Under the proposal, the base fee charge would see a 25-cent increase, from $14.07 to $14.32. The total would include a customer’s monthly rates based on meter size plus a fire flow charge which covers the cost of providing water for fire protection.

The proposed change would combine the two under base charges. In the current rate structure the items are listed separately on a customer’s bill.

Residents whose monthly water usage stays at or below 100% of their winter average consumption will see a decrease in their usage rate under the proposal. WAC is the customer’s average water use during the winter months (January, February and March).

Tier 1 customers will see a drop from $3.22 to $2.30 per 100 cubic feet, which is approximately 748 gallons. Tier 2 would increase from $4.44 to $6.33, while Tier 3 would jump from $6.89 to $10.20.

Currently, the city uses an inclining block structure, which means a customer’s rate per consumption increases when a customer exceeds a certain threshold.

According to the city, the current structure for all non-summer usage from October-May is charged at the Tier 1 rate.

During the summer months, from June through September, the tiers are based on a customer’s WAC.

Summer Tier 1: Usage of 0-70% of customer’s WAC

Summer Tier 2: Usage of 71-170% of customer’s WAC

Summer Tier 3: Usage exceeding 170% of customer’s WAC

Under the city’s new proposal, the tiers would be applied year-round rather instead of only during the summer months. Additionally, tier 1 would be extended to 100% of the customer’s WAC. This means, the proposed percentage increase in tiered charges means customers who have a consistent water usage each month won’t see their bills change with the seasons.

Tier 1: Usage of 0-100% of customer’s WAC

Tier 2: Usage of 100-200% of customer’s WAC

Tier 3: Usage exceeding 200% of customer’s WAC

Julie Ryan with the CoMo Safe Water Coalition said the group has supported small, gradual rate increases to help maintain operations without hurting ratepayers. But the possible changes to water rates make her question how the city is managing its spending and says residents aren’t seeing the benefit.

“Saying they need this additional funding tells us they haven’t spent what they’ve already had effectively, or shown good stewardship of ratepayer money,” she said.

Ryan also questions the 2018 water bonds, saying some projects have started, but others haven’t making the rate increase harder to justify.

“It’s really hard for us to justify needing to raise rates consistently when the utility isn’t actually getting the things done they were suppose to,” Ryan said.

West said, the reason the city is behind on water bond projects is due to changes that have taken place since it was passed.

“A lot of change on the city council and city leadership so some of those projects that were put on the back burner, or put on pause after the 2018 bond election are now being able to be refocused and be put into play,” West said.

If approved, the new water rate structure would go into effect Oct. 1 2025. West said the city will conduct another cost-survey study in about another five years. The current water rates were put in place in 2018, according to West.

Columbia residents could also see changes to electric rates and Ameren plans to raise natural gas prices in September.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Fire Department leaders say services won’t be cut despite a 1% drop in the department’s fiscal 2026 budget.

The city is predicting it will bring in around $560 million in revenue for fiscal 2026, for around $600 million in spending, leaving a deficit of $40 million, nearly double the city’s deficit for 2025 of $23 million. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

This proposal includes a $140,000, or 0.4%, decrease in police funding, a $300,000, or around 1%, decrease in fire department funding, and a little over $260,000, or a 26.6% decrease, in sustainability funding.

Columbia’s Chief Finance Director Matthew Lue explains that the $40 million deficit is because of the city’s Capital Budget spending.

The Capital Budget is funded by taxes and goes to city projects like infrastructure. This year, the city allocated more than $1.3 million from the budget for flock cameras and new equipment for the police department.

The Capital Budget tends to be saved up over several years, with large portions being spent at once, causing gaps to appear in annual budget reviews. City documents report that Columbia still has over $180 million in the Capital Budget.

“All of the budget has to be put together as one big document, because even though capital is separate, it still has to be accounted for within the total budget for the city,” Lue said. “So it always makes it look like that, it has been like that for years, there was always a discrepancy.”

Lue says the change in department budgets from last year is largely due to one-time purchases made during the 2025 fiscal year.

The Columbia Fire Department, for example, had a higher budget last year for roof repairs, a new water heater, and computer upgrades. With those purchases complete, the station can turn its attention to more internal improvements.

“We just welcomed new firefighters to the department this year, so that money is going towards their training, professional development and their personal protective equipment,” CFD spokesperson Katherine Rodriguez said. “What we’re doing instead is strategically investing in the parts that do matter, like our people, our most precious resource.”

The Columbia Fire Department does not expect any changes in operations due to budget changes.

Columbia’s Office of Sustainability similarly budgeted last year for a one-time housing study.

“While reductions in other areas will require us to pay even closer attention to the costs associated with Office activities, we do not expect a dramatic contraction in the level of service provided to Community Members,” Manager of Columbia’s Office of Sustainability Eric Hempel said in a statement.

Ward 5 councilmember Don Waterman said that a large concern in the 2026 fiscal budget is preparing for a tight budget. Last year, the expected tax revenue for the city fell 3% short, so the council is prepared to plan accordingly.

“We’re making the decision between safety and social services and infrastructure. Trying to juggle those as best we can,” Waterman said.

Waterman adds that the City Council will discuss the budget over the next month with the goal of voting on a budget in September before the 2026 fiscal year begins in October.

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Gabrielle Teiner

LAKE OZARK, Mo. (KMIZ)

A fire at a Lake of the Ozarks marina early Monday was accidental, investigators say.

The office of the State Fire Marshal was unable to eliminate an electrical issue with a house boat as the cause, a Department of Public Safety spokesman said Monday.

No one was hurt after a fire that broke out around 1 a.m. Monday, according to a social media post from the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop F.

The post states troopers responded to a large fire at Wheelhouse Marina. Several docks and boats were engulfed in flames, pictures from the scene show.

Camille Pruitt has lived on the lake for six years. She said she didn’t know boats fires could look what she saw under the marina Monday morning.

“It looked like a huge inferno going on under the roof,” Pruitt said. “And then even spreading out and poking up through the roof. It started burning through the the roof panels and it was just unbelievable.”

Pruitt said she was getting ready to head to bed when she heard what sounded like distant gunshots or thunder.

“There was a really loud, long rumbling, almost like a thunder, but deeper than that,” Pruitt said. “And it went on for quite a while and then a really big boom.”

She looked out her kitchen window and noticed flames, so she turned on the Camden County scanner. She heard about the fire and rushed over to the scene.

She sat and watched for hours as law enforcement battled the intense flames. She said the smell of gasoline was inescapable.

“The water was literally on fire for quite a ways out into the cove,” Pruitt said.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said it’s looking at environmental restoration after an incident like this.

“We’re looking at the fuel spill and the burned boats themselves at the bottom of the lake,” DNR Emergency Operations Unit Chief Cody Garner said. “What needs to happen as far as keeping the environment safe, getting the lake cleaned up and everything.”

Garner said though most of the fuel burned up in the fire, DNR put boom in the water to help absorb the rest.

“It will absorb the fuel and the oil and not the water,” Garner said. “And then as that happens, then they’ll come in and they’ll start lifting the boats, raising those up, floating them and pulling them out of the water.”

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Hartsburg man who admitted to killing his father was sentenced to life in prison Monday after a previous sentencing hearing was delayed.

Collin Knight, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his father. Knight had previously agreed to a plea deal that would see him serve life in prison for second-degree murder and 15 years for a parole violation.

Judge Joshua Devine imposed the sentence on Monday.

Notes in electronic court records state Knight told Judge Joshua Devine he “does not wish to be sentenced today,” last month. Devine delayed the hearing at the defense’s request.

The stabbing death occurred in September 2022 in the 18000 block of South Old Route A in Ashland. According to court documents, Knight’s father died after being stabbed more than 15 times.

Deputies found Knight in the garage of a neighboring home after he called dispatchers and allegedly admitted to the killing at the scene.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Spending projections continue to rise, while revenue continues to fall for the City of Columbia.

The Columbia City Council is set to hear input from Columbia residents during its Monday night meeting.The City’s budget is made up of five different fund types: the general fund, enterprise funds, internal service funds, special revenue Funds and debt service funds.

Total costs increased for the second year in a row, with nearly $600 million in projected spending. The city allotted for $563 million of total spending for the 2025 fiscal year.

However, even with the city’s revenue increasing for the third year in a row, it’s no match for its needs. The city is predicting it will bring in around $560 million of revenue for 2026, according to online documents. That still leaves a deficit of $40 million, nearly double the city’s deficit for 2025 of $23 million.

The city’s general fund is also taking a hit, with a $1 million projected decrease in revenue for the 2026 fiscal year at around $133 million. The city lists $137 million in projected spending costs for 2026, leaving a $4 million deficit.

The general fund covers the expenses for the city’s public safety departments. The predicted spending needs for the police and fire departments, along with the municipal courts, for 2026 is projected to be nearly $75 million. However, the general fund only allotted $67 million for the new fiscal year.

The Columbia Police Department and the Columbia Fire Department saw cuts to their budgets. In the 2025 budget, the police department received $34,984,232. In the 2026 budget, the police department is receiving $34,841,846. Thats a decrease of more than $140,000.

The fire department received $31,489,019 in the 2025 budget. In the 2026 budget, the department is projected to receive $31,190,253, a decrease of nearly $300,000.

One of the ways the city is looking at bringing more money in is by changing the way it charges customers for water rates. Council members will hear public comment on that, the proposed budget and more at its meeting Monday night. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at Columbia City Hall.

The new budget cycle will begin Oct. 1, 2025.

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Nia Hinson

MONITEAU COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A California man died on Sunday after his ATV crashed.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the crash occurred around 8:30 on Route KK- north of Swillum Road. The crash happened when the 74-year-old’s 2001 Honda TRX350FM crossed the center of the road and traveled off the left side of the road.

The vehicle then rolled over and the man was ejected. He was pronounced dead on scene.

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Keriana Gamboa

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Sunday is the last day to take advantage of Missouri’s back-to-school sales tax holiday.

During the weekend sale event, shoppers do not have to pay any state or local sales tax on certain qualifying items.

The idea behind the holiday is to help families and students prepare for the school year by making essential educational products more affordable.

The tax break applies to essentials such as:

Clothing priced under $100, including shoes, school uniforms, and even disposable diapers.

School supplies up to $50 per item, like notebooks, pens, crayons, backpacks, and calculators priced under $150.

Personal computers and accessories priced under $1,500, including laptops, desktops, monitors, keyboards, and printers.

However, some items are not eligible for the tax exemption, such as headphones, phones, sporting equipment, jewelry, and furniture.

The sales tax holiday ends at midnight.

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Nia Hinson

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man faces life in prison after pleading guilty to a child sex crime.

Ryan Swillum, 25, of Jefferson City plead guilty to first-degree statutory sodomy on Friday, according to a press release from Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson.

According to the release, the events occurred in Jefferson City between August of 2018 and May of 2020. The victim told their parents about the abuse and the parents immediately reported it to police, the release says.

Swillum was charged in February 2023.

“During his plea, Swillum stipulated that he was a predatory sexual offender, meaning that he willbe sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment,” the release states.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22. It will be determined then if he will be eligible for parole, according to the release.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two Jefferson City women were killed in a single-vehicle crash Saturday morning on Route C in Cole County, just west of Zion Road, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

It is not known if the women were wearing seatbelts, the report says. The crash occurred as a 2008 Ford Focus – driven by a 37-year-old woman – was heading westbound and went off the left side of the road, the report says.

The Ford Focus hit a tree and caught fire, the report says. The driver and the passenger – a 38-year-old woman – were both pronounced dead at the scene at 3:06 a.m. by the Cole County medical examiner, the report says.

The vehicle was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Fulton firefighter suffered minor injuries while responding to a house fire just after midnight Saturday in the 600 block of Churchill Road, according to a Saturday morning press release from the Fulton Fire Department.

The firefighter – who was not named – suffered a minor burn injury and was treated on the scene, the release says. No other injuries were reported.

The release says that crews were called at 12:13 a.m. and arrived five minutes later. The home had visible flams and black smock coming from the back of the building, the release says. Firefighters were initially told a victim may have been trapped in the home, though no victims were found, the release says.

The fire was brought under control by 12:57 a.m., the release says.

The Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

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