North Adams City Council Hikes Water Fee, Passes $39M BudgetBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
08:30PM / Wednesday, June 15, 2016 | |
 The City Council on Tuesday night passed a $39 million budget and raised water and transfer station fees. |
The councilors discuss fiscal matters at Tuesday's meeting.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday night authorized increases in the water rate, of 5 percent, and transfer station scale fees to begin July 1.
The water rate will increase from $3.85 to $4.04 per 100 cubic feet. The sewer rate is 50 percent of a water bill.
But not all councilors were on board: the order passed 7-2, with Councilors Ronald Boucher and Robert M. Moulton Jr. voting against.
Boucher said he had gotten a lot of phone calls, emails and people stopping him on the street, with complaints they were being "nickel and dimed to death."
"It may not seem a lot to us, I have the ability to cover it but some people don't," Boucher said.
"So on principal, I'm not going to support this tonight but I understand where we have to go as a city but I'm just thinking of the people who don't have the means."
Boucher said it was a matter of voicing his opinion; Moulton expressed a similar sentiment in voting nay.
Mayor Richard Alcombright said the city's fee structure was comparable or lower to other rates across the state.
"Water rate increases were sort of a normal, natural part of sustaining the revenue for the city," he said. "We've raised water rates three times in seven years."
The city had raised rates almost yearly since 1995, Alcombright said, including many hikes that he had voted for as a city councilor.
"In one year, it was 10 percent in July and 10 percent in January," he said.
The rates were last raised in 2014, from $3.50, and in 2010, when the sewer fee was approved.
The other councilors said the fees went hand in hand with the city's attempts to deal with years of delayed maintenance in the sewer and water infrastructure.
Council President Benjamin Lamb called the pipes "dated and they're antiques" and not fixing them or the water treatment plant would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Councilor Eric Buddington said his impression was not that the rates would continually rise but that they would reach the point where they would cover the actual cost.
Lamb asked if the administration was considering enterprise funding for water and sewer, a goal that has been raised in the past.
"That's something we're going to look at very aggressively this year," said the mayor. He said the financial team has spoken with the city's auditor about enterprise accounting and anticipated he would have recommendations in the second half of the year.
"We're confident that our water rates and our sewer rates, if they do, they just barely cover our costs ...
"I'm suggesting we're a couple hundred thousand short on the sewer side."
The assessment to the Hoosac Water Quality District is calculated at $1.16 million; the city anticipates taking in $887,663.
The upside in enterprise accounting is that reserves can build up to address maintenance and investment; the downside, said the mayor, is "what happens if the enterprise fund shows that you need to raise $400,000 to fund the sewer, then what do you do?"
Administrative Officer Michael Canales said the city is looking to use Community Development Block Grant funds for a study the city's water and sewer rates, and that will include examining the use of enterprise funds and different ways to charge for water and sewer.
Most communities charge either by volume or by a flat rate, such as the number of bathrooms or kitchens.
Buddington suggested the review look at exempting a specific amount of water before the fees are imposed as a way to help some residents. "Making it easy on the people who are just scraping by," he said. "I'd appreciate it if you would consider that."
Councilor Joshua Moran said charging water and sewer by volume gave residents some control over their bills.
"If you do have a problem you have the option of cutting back," he said. "There are things you can do to offset that cost. No one enjoys taxes going up but I think at least this you have direct control over."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculates the average family of four uses 400 gallons of water a day, or 53.47 cubic feet.
On a quarterly bill with the new rate, that's about $194, or an increase of $9; and $97 for sewer, an increase of $5. The average family of four could see an annual increase of $56.
Of course, billing can very greatly depending on water usage and conservation; toilets use the most water with baths and showers second.
Williamstown's rate, set at 90 percent above the residential rate, will rise to $7.53, up 21 cents; Clarksburg's rate, set at 72 percent above the residential rate, will rise to $6.82, up 19 cents.
The council unanimously changed the transfer station's scale rate to $.0506 per pound or $101.23 per ton, up from $94.40. All other fees will remain the same with the cost of large blue bags at $2.25 and stickers $60. The station will no longer be open on Mondays.
The administration has been reviewing the transfer stations operations with the goal of making the fees reflect the actual cost, especially in light of the large transfer station and recycling facility that opened in Pownal, Vt., last year to serve large haulers.
"This comes back to the whole mission of this administration, the finance team of really costing things out for the city," the mayor said. "We did lose a significant amount of volume to the facility in Vermont ... they can just handle it more inexpensively and efficiently than we could."
Canales said the municipal facility couldn't compete with the larger private concern because the city relies on paying a middleman to take away waste. The Vermont facility is the middleman and can cut separate deals with haulers based on tonnage. Instead, the city will focus on serving residents and small haulers; doing anything more will require significant investment.
The cost of waste removal for North Adams is calculated at $598,290 for fiscal 2017, with a total cost of transfer operations of $759,227.75. With the new rates, the revenue from the transfer station is anticipated at $765,000.
"Right now for every $1 we take in, 79 cents of it is just to get rid of the trash," said Canales. "And the remaining is to cover all our other costs."
The council also transferred $787,752 from certified free cash into the stabilization account, bringing that account up to nearly $1 million. The mayor said he wanted to shift the money as part of the goal of building reserves and to make use of the funds more accountable since it will require a two-thirds vote by the council to use them.
The City Council on Tuesday night referred to a second reading a $39.5 million budget for fiscal 2017.
The budget is up 2.29 percent, or $884,826, over fiscal 2016, kept down in part by the anticipated use of $205,000 to offset health insurance expenses.
Mayor Richard Alcombright said the increase is largely from the school budget and McCann Technical school assessment, employee health insurance ($162,995), pensions ($108,552) and other insurance obligations that make up $791,000 of the increase over this year.
The school budget of $16,744,198 was approved by the School Committee last Tuesday. That spending plan constitutes a 2 percent increase on the city side, with an additional contribution of $328,318 over this year. The total budget is actually up 3.52 percent but is being reduced through using $250,000 in school choice funds for salaries. McCann's assessment is also being driven by health insurances costs and is up about $85,000.
The Finance Committee reviewed the departments over several meetings in late May and early June; Councilor Lisa Blackmer, chairman of the committee, read the report and recommendation.
In his letter to the council, the mayor noted that the "difference between our tax levy limit and tax ceiling is shrinking." Fiscal discipline and creative planning will be required to address the tens of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance of the city's infrastructure, he said.
"With several very exciting projects in process and development, I am hopeful that we will see growth over the next several years," he wrote.
The council also passed a new classification & compensation plan to a second reading.
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