Proposed 5 Percent Water Rate Hike on the Table

The Melrose residential water rate would increase by a quarter to $5.25 next year under the proposal currently before the Board of Aldermen.

The aldermen's Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on Monday night on the proposed water and sewer rates for next year, along with the Water Enterprise Fund and the Sewer Enterprise Fund—the last unfinished business when it comes to the city's fiscal 2012 budget.

The hearing was continued to 7:15 p.m. on Monday, June 20, before the board's full meeting scheduled for later that night, to allow the aldermen to review the information presented by city officials.

The proposed increase from $5 to $5.25 per 100 cubic feet of usage is a 5 percent increase, Superintendent Bob Beshara told the aldermen on Monday. The commercial water rate would rise from $6.12 this year to $6.45 next year, a 5.39 percent increase.

Beshara said that the city's preliminary fiscal 2012 water assessment from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is an 8 percent increase over the current fiscal year, a total of $2.26 million. He also said the MWRA budget accounts for 52 percent of the Water Enterprise Fund; another 13 percent is for debt and the remaining 35 percent represents the operating budget for next year.

The sewer rate for both homeowners and businesses would rise from $9.14 this year to $9.35 next year, an increase of 2.3 percent. The MWRA's preliminary fiscal 2012 sewer assessment is a 3.5 percent increase over the current year, a total of $5.43 million. Beshara said that the MWRA budget accounts for 85 percent of the Sewer Enterprise Fund budget and debt accounts for 6.9 percent of that budget.

Surplus applied, large projects not included in budget to keep rates down

Beshara said his department took two somewhat new steps this year in order to try and hold down water and sewer rate increases. First, a $150,000 surplus from the previous year's water budget was applied to next year, keeping the water rate down; and second, most water and sewer projects aren't in the enterprise budgets, as opposed to previous years.

Most water and sewer projects will be paid for through bonding, Beshara said, with smaller items such as short extensions, breaks and repairs handled through the enterprise budgets.

Board President and Alderman at-Large Don Conn, Jr. thanked Beshara, Deputy City Engineer and City Auditor Patrick Dello Russo for applying the previous year's surplus in order to keep rates down.

Conn said he's been "carping" about using any surpluses for that purpose for years—and recalled, with a grin, a "big controversy some of you might remember," when the aldermen voted in committee to apply the surpluses to keep rates down, but at a later full board meeting voted not to do so—and said "it's good that we're seeing single digit increases," although "it's not fair and appropriate for water and sewer rates to continue to increase every year, even if they're small increases.

"The creep of water and sewer rates is insidious," he said. "They are not tax deductible like real estate taxes—maybe they should be. I’m going to make some motions to cut some things ... I’d like to see the rates with no increase or increase as minimally as possible."

Beshara and Scenna both noted that Melrose does not take as strident water conservation steps as other communities, such as limiting on what days and during what times residents can water their lawn, which can also hold down the MWRA's annual assessment to the city. Beshara added that the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency require some level of water conservation.

"They really haven’t come after the MWRA communities yet, but as you know, government likes to extend its reach," he said.

Is city charged for stormwater run-off? How does MWRA calcuate the city's assessment?

One member of the public spoke at the public hearing, Joe Pelrine of Howard Street, who told the aldermen, "I'm sure I'm not the only one who's feeling the pressure of these water bills, so I had just a few questions to help me understand better where we're going forwad, and maybe not have any rate increase at all."

Pelrine asked whether the city is assessed by the MWRA for stormwater drainage, pointing specifically to the water being pumped into the city's drainage system from the Melrose High School athletic fields project.

Beshara said that the city is not assessed by the MWRA for stormwater sent down catch basins, which ends up in Ell Pond or leaves the city through the drainage system. However, stormwater seeps into the old sewer system can surcharge that system and lead to increased assessments, which Beshara said highlights the importance of continued inflow and infiltration (I&I) projects that seek seal and secure those pipes, minimizing the amount of rainwater that seeps into the sewer system.

Answer Pelrine's other questions, Beshara said that the MWRA does not charge by water usage or sewer usage, but by a "complicated formula" that compares how much water and sewer Melrose uses compared to other MWRA communities, which establishes a percentage of MWRA's budget that the city has to pay.

"So if their budget is $10 million and our flow is 7 percent of that, we take 7 percent of their budget. It's a three-year average," he said, adding with a eye-rolling chuckle, "I personally haven’t been able to figure out the formula either."

Also, any capital or vehicle purchases and repairs to water and sewer vehicles must be paid using the Enterprise Funds and cannot come out of the city's general fund, Beshara said.

Ward 6 Alderman Peter Mortimer said that while the MWRA's debt ratio is "outrageous" and leads to increased costs for communities, Melrose is insulated from catastrophic events that can have their impact spread out over all the MWRA member communities, to which Beshara agreed.

Mortimer also did some back-of-the-envelope calculations regarding how much ratepayers actually pay for water, to which Beshara gave corrected figures: with 745 gallons per 100 cubic feet, if the rate is, say, $9, the ratepayer is paying $9 for 745 gallons.

"If you have a teenager, that’s two showers," he joked dryly.