The city of Montgomery is proposing to increase its water and sewer rates to provide the city with more funds for maintenance and water improvement projects. The city council will host a public hearing 6 p.m. Tuesday at city hall at 101 Old Plantersville Road, Montgomery, to hear the public’s comments on the proposed water and sewer rate increases for fiscal year 2016-17, which begins Oct. 1. City Administrator Jack Yates said the proposed rate increase is necessary to ensure the city has money for water and sewer system upkeep and improvements. However, he said the rate increase will have little to no effect on the city’s residential customers. “The minimum user will have no increase and the 7,000-gallons-a-month user will have about a $6 increase,” Yates said. Yates said the city’s biggest users, such as Montgomery ISD and other large facilities, will be hit the hardest if the proposed rate increase is approved. “The school, for instance, in a lot of months will use half as much water as the rest of the city combined,” he said. “The residents will not be able to tell very much difference in their price.” Yates said about 70 to 80 percent of the city’s water users will see less than an $8 increase per month increase in their water bills. City council members approved a resolution in August to request to borrow about $2.6 million from the Texas Water Development Board for water and sewer system improvement projects in FY 2016-17. Yates said the rate increase will provide additional funds so the city does not have to continue borrowing money for future water improvements as the city grows. “We’ve been meeting our expenses with our revenues each year but not keeping on top of our payments and that’s part of the reason why we’re having to go to the [TWDB] to borrow money for maintenance,” Yates said. The public hearing will take place at 6 p.m. before beginning the city’s regular meeting.