HADLEY — Combined water and sewer bills will be increasing substantially this year — by nearly $100 a year — if the Select Board adopts rate-adjustment recommendations from the town’s financial management team as a way of keeping enterprise fund budgets solvent.

The Select Board will hold a hearing Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center to act on a package of proposals that calls for a 12% increase in the water rate and a 15% increase in the sewer rate this year, what Town Collector Susan Glowatsky said would be front-loaded three year adjustments, with smaller increases in future years.

For a typical household of three using 1,300 cubic feet per quarter, annual water and sewer bills would rise from $480.96 per year to $578.76 per year, a $97.80 increase.

Sewer budget

To meet the $1.13 million sewer budget, Glowatsky said the three-year rate increase would be 15%, then 5% and 5% in the second and third years.

“We need to stabilize the sewer budget and hope for less rainy summers than we’ve had, quite honestly,” Glowatsky said.

In the first year, residential rates would go up from the current $5.82 per 100 cubic feet to $6.69 per 100 cubic feet, and an additional 33 cents and then 35 cents per 100 cubic feet the following two years.

Commercial rates would face similar increases. Those businesses using under 15,000 cubic feet would see the rates go from the current $5.97 per 100 cubic feet to $6.87 per 100 cubic feet, and then an additional 34 cents and 36 cents per 100 cubic feet the following two years, while those using at least 15,000 cubic feet would see the rates rise from $6.67 per 100 cubic feet to $7.67 per 100 cubic feet, and then an additional 38 cents and 40 cents per 100 cubic feet the following two years.

The cost impact for a single person, using 200 cubic feet, would be an increase from $11.64 to $13.38 quarterly, a single family using 1,300 cubic feet would go up quarterly from $75.65 to $86.97, a small commercial customer using 4,200 cubic feet would go up quarterly from $250 to $288.54 and a large commercial customer, like a hotel, using 59,300 cubic feet, would go up quarterly from $3,850 to $4,428.

Glowatsky said the town is catching up as only one adjustment in sewer rates has been made since 2007, despite a 15% across the board adjustment recommended in a report by Tighe & Bond consultants in 2019.

“So we’ve just been putting this off? Why?” said Chairwoman Jane Nevinsmith.

Board member Molly Keegan said the reason has been largely disagreements among board members as to whether just sewer users or all taxpayers should bear the brunt of the costs, since everyone in Hadley benefits from the commerical development on Route 9 related to sewer. That led to the Select Board implementing a $10 quarterly fee on all residents for infrastructure improvements.

Nevinsmith said it is time to correct what previous boards have done.

By not changing rates, town officials have to pour reserves into the sewer enterprise fund, $395,341 in the past five years, even though what is available is drying up, said member Randy Izer.

“We’re in a situation with sewer, that if we don’t do anything, in two years, we’ll have zero reserves,” Izer said.

Water budget

For the $1.54 million water budget, Glowatsky is recommending 12%, 6% and 6% hikes and discontinuing the residential lowest use rate of up to 499 cubic feet and who pay $2.58 per 100 cubic feet. Instead, those users would be placed in the same category as those using up to 4,125 cubic feet of water, and would see the rate go up from $3.96 to $4.44 per 100 cubic feet, then rise by 26 cents and 28 cents per 100 cubic feet in the following two years. For the highest commercial, those using over 7,500 cubic feet, which pay $5.57 per 100 cubic feet, the cost would rise to $6.24 per 100 cubic feet, and then an additional 37 cents and 39 cents in the following two years.

The quarterly impact for single-person, using 200 cubic feet, would go up quarterly from $5.16 to $8.88, a single-family using 1,300 cubic feet quarterly would go up from $44.59 to $57.72, a small commercial using 4,200 cubic feet would go up quarterly from $213.10 to $238.68 and a large commercial, like a hotel using 59,300 cubic feet, would go up quarterly from $3,269 to $3,662.

Agricultural uses for water would continue to pay the lowest rate, currently $2.58 per 100 cubic feet. Those would rise to $2.89 per cubic feet and then $3.06 and $3.25 per 100 cubic feet in the second and third years.

Board member Joyce Chunglo said she anticipates residents will have questions, including on what happens to the infrastructure fee. “Will this get rid of the $10 fee,” Chunglo asked.

“Not yet,” Glowatsky said, noting that the infrastructure fee is going toward debt service, not operations.

“It’s not an easy increase at all,” Glowatsky said, adding that the town hasn’t increased water rates since May 2019, when rates went up 2.5%.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>