The mayors are named in the city records
Victor's official mayor page identifies Will Frohlich as mayor and says his term expires in 2027. Driggs' official city-council page identifies August Christensen as mayor and says her current term runs from January 2026 to January 2030.
The official record cited here centers on public money and wastewater governance under those offices: rates, penalties, audits, litigation, and plant-finance decisions.
Victor raised sewer rates on Oct. 1, 2024
Victor's own rate notice says its sewer rate jumped from $61.04 to $98.50 per month effective October 1, 2024. The city tied that increase to treatment-cost pressure from Driggs' regulatory problems and plant-upgrade needs. Victor's later wastewater finance explainer says the system's FY2026 sewer-fund budget is about $2.19 million and that a Victor-owned plant could push modeled monthly rates into roughly the $126 to $139 range depending on project cost.
Driggs lists a current in-city sewer base amount of $70.36 under rates effective Oct. 1, 2025. Driggs also says its plant expansion was estimated at $31.6 million at the 30 percent design stage.
The federal enforcement record sits underneath the city fight
EPA said in January 2025 that Driggs agreed to pay a $400,000 penalty and undertake a major wastewater upgrade over chronic Clean Water Act violations. The federal consent decree says the government's complaint alleged 3,237 permit exceedances plus sampling, recordkeeping, and chain-of-custody problems. Driggs did not admit liability in that decree, but it did agree to the compliance regime.
The federal pollution-enforcement record sits underneath the local billing and rate fight.
Victor's lawsuit turned the governance failure into an audit-and-billing fight
Victor's March 5, 2026 complaint against Driggs says the inter-city wastewater agreement required annual independent audits and compliant treatment, but alleges the neutral audit did not happen until 2024 and that Victor had been overpaying. Victor also alleges Driggs failed to cooperate fully with the audit and mishandled debt-service and operating-cost pass-throughs.
Victor's wastewater page says the city approved a 40-acre future treatment site in 2025 and is pushing a separate plant after losing trust in the old arrangement's cost, compliance, and ratepayer controls.
The public is already underwriting both versions of the future
Victor's modeling says monthly sewer costs could rise further if the city builds its own plant, while Driggs is already carrying a federally enforced upgrade path and its own higher rate structure.
The household bill is where the governance failure lands: separation, litigation, compliance, and capital expansion are all moving through local utility math.
Sources & records
Reviewed by Standards Review. Updated April 14, 2026.
- Victor Mayor Page
Victor's official mayor page identifying Will Frohlich as mayor and listing his term as expiring in 2027.
- Driggs City Council And Mayor Page
Driggs' official city-council page identifying August Christensen as mayor with a current term running from January 2026 to January 2030.
- Victor Rate Increase Notice
Victor's October 2024 rate notice explaining the sewer jump from $61.04 to $98.50 and tying it to Driggs treatment costs and Clean Water Act compliance-driven upgrades.
- Victor Wastewater Finance Explainer
Victor's official sewer-finance article with the current sewer-fund budget, ERU count, and modeled monthly rates for a Victor-owned plant.
- Victor Wastewater Project Page
Victor's official page summarizing the lawsuit, the 40-acre site purchase approved in 2025, and the city's rationale for leaving the Driggs system.
- Driggs Wastewater Plant Page
Driggs' official wastewater page acknowledging long-running ammonia compliance problems and outlining the expansion schedule and cost estimate.
- EPA Release On Driggs Settlement
EPA's January 2025 release on the federal wastewater settlement and the $400,000 penalty.
- DOJ Consent Decree
Official federal consent decree saying the underlying complaint alleged 3,237 permit exceedances and other violations while noting that Driggs did not admit liability.
- Victor v. Driggs Complaint
Victor's filed complaint alleging delayed audits, overbilling, and contract breaches in the wastewater relationship.
