By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD —— Water and sewer rates will be going up starting July 1, but in the case of the sewer rates, the increase will not be as much as had earlier been anticipated.
Water rates for Fiscal Year 2024 will be increasing by 3.5 percent, while sewer rates will go up by 2.5 percent instead of the expected 3.25 percent.
For the average residential consumer, that means that his water bill will go up from this year’s $180.06 per quarter to $185.69.
On the sewer side, the average residential consumer’s quarterly bill will go up from this year’s $260.40 to $266.38 beginning July 1.
Public Works Director Joseph Conway was on hand last night for the Town Council’s annual public hearing on the water and sewer rates. He was joined in the WCAT studio by the DPW’s Business Manager Ann Waitt. Matt Abrahams from the Abrahams Group, which the DPW uses as a consultant for the water and sewer rate setting process, joined the meeting via Zoom.
Conway described the process by which the rates are determined, with the Advisory Board of Public Works considering several different rate packages before voting on a recommendation.
Conway said that this year the MWRA’s assessments to the town came in late, after the Advisory BPW had issued its recommendation. In the case of the sewer assessment, it came in much lower than anticipated. Therefore, Conway said, his team put together a subsequent recommendation for the sewer rate that is lower than the figure that the Advisory BPW had recommended.
As a result of the favorable sewer assessment from the MWRA, $99,000 was credited against the earlier projected amount and resulted in the lower 2.5 percent increase in the sewer rate instead of 3.25 percent.
Conway then turned the presentation over to Abrahams to discuss the details.
Abrahams noted that there was a significant blip in the MWRA’s water assessment to the town due to an issue with the Wakefield treatment plant that resulted in the town having to rely more heavily on MWRA water for a short period in FY2023.
He observed that the retained earnings for the Water Division are just under $2 million. Those retained earnings, he said, provide some room for capital expenditures without incurring debt.
Abrahams said that the Sewer Division also enjoys a healthy balance of $1.6 million in retained earnings.
When Town Councilors got to weigh in at the hearing, Edward Dombroski expressed concern about the future rate increases shown in Abrahams’ presentation, which projected 6 percent increases in the water rates from FY2025 to FY2028.
Dombroski also raised an issue of concern to residents of larger condominium buildings, where water is metered for the entire building rather than for each unit. He noted that any savings thar a condo owner may realize through separate metering might not offset the cost of installing separate meters for each unit.
No one from the public spoke at last night’s public hearing on the water and sewer rates.
The Town Council votes setting the FY2024 water rate at 3.5 percent and the sewer rate at 2.5 percent were unanimous.
Both the Water and Sewer Divisions are self-sustaining enterprise departments and are not funded through the tax levy.