(6/20) After much discussion about the future of the Special Assessment fee, the Council met to discuss raising water rates in June. Water administrator Laura Sassano presented the Town Council with charts depicting the projected income if rates were increased by 5% every year for four years.
The charts separated the rates into three categories: in town, out of town and industrial, and does include the $50 Special Assessment fee, which will not see the 5% increase but is reflected in the total projected revenue.
The first chart compared the actual income from the November 2023 and May 2024 water bills ($762,812) to a projected increase of 5% for the same period ($780,336), resulting in an increase of $17,524. Each chart that followed showed the projected revenue with and without the 5% increase over the next three years, illustrating a total increase of 20% over a four-year period.
Sassano explained the complexity of the calculations were due to the tiered method of billing Walkersville uses. The Town bases water rates on gallons used with the first tier being 0 to 10,000 gallons, second being 10,001 to 25,000 gallons, third tier at 25,001 to 50,000 gallons and the final tier any amount over 50,001 gallons.
Last month, the Council voted to continue the $50 bi-annual Special Assessment fee for another 10 years to help pay down the principle of the 30-year loan of $7.3 million that the Town received from the State for the plant’s construction. It also allowed the Town to see what the new plant’s expenses would look like without incurring more debt.
When the fee was first introduced, it was based on dividing the yearly loan repayment amount by 3,000 (the approximate number of water customers at the time). In 2021, the fee was increased to $100 per account. Williams explained that if the fee is kept for the term of the loan, it will need to be renewed in the future, unless the Council decides to choose another route with water billing.
Williams also explained that Town staff has additional charts showing the different options the Council could choose with the increase, which included raising the Special Assessment fee and rates and removing the Special Assessment completely and rolling it into the rates.
Commissioner Betsey Brannen commented on the Special Assessment fee and its impact on seniors with lower incomes when combined with the tiered billing, especially when they traditionally use less water. "I’m concerned with how increasing the rates will impact those on fixed incomes such as our seniors," she said. Williams offered the Council an option to change the fee to a tiered version similar to the water rates that would aid those using less water. McNiesh agreed, saying "If you use more water, then you should pay more."
Due to the complexity of the chart, Commissioner Mike McNiesh asked Sessano if she could provide the Council with another chart without the Special Assessment fee in order to truly see the benefit of the 5% increase. "We need to be able to compare apples to apples and see exactly what we are raising," he said.
When McNiesh asked for Town staff's recommendation on what the Council should do, Sessano suggested a higher initial increase of 20% with lower increases the following years. Although an unpopular option, the amount would still be considerably less than the 36% increase Emmitsburg recently implemented for their water budget.
The Council will continue discussing their options and prepare for a vote on the rate increase in July.
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