MARENGO – Money for maintenance and repairs to Marengo’s water and sewer system will be stretched thin in the next 18 months to cover about $1 million in upfront costs for the city’s wastewater plant upgrade.

Financial juggling is needed to stave off larger increases to wastewater rates for residents and small businesses in 18 months, when the city starts to pay back a multimillion-dollar loan to expand the aging wastewater treatment plant.

“The whole idea here is to keep the rates as low as possible,” City Manager Gary Boden said. The water and sewer budget has money for engineering fees, new plant equipment and other upfront expenses due this year, and to avoid increasing Marengo’s monthly loan payments to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Boden said.