Mayor announces water rate increase effective month
Date: 9/26/2012
By Carley Dangona
carley@thereminder.comWEST SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Gregory Neffinger announced that water rates would increase 7.6 percent beginning Oct. 1, creating an average annual impact of $17 per household.
The new rate will cost $1.75 per hundred cubic feet of water, in comparison to surrounding communities, including Westfield, Springfield and Agawam, whose rates range from $2 to $5.40 per hundred cubic feet of water.
The current price does not adequately supply the Water Enterprise Fund, which is supposed to be used to pay for repairs, such as the break of a 120-year-old pipe in August where the repair cost approximately $2.9 million.
The purpose of the fund is not merely to provide drinking water, but to also:
• to maintain the supply system and facilities involved in the distribution;
• to implement necessary capital improvements to the process;
• to sustain a staff to maintain, improve and fix the system;
• to ensure Massachusetts' Department of Environmental Protection regulations are complied with;
• to facilitate emergency management of the drinking water and watershed.
Another reason for the raised cost is the issue of fairness. "Water needs within the town have been subsidized by real estate taxes and that doesn't seem fair to our taxpayers," Neffinger said. "If you think about it, many commercial businesses use significantly more water than the typical resident. By increasing fees commercial properties will pick up more of their fair share."
While future increases are likely, Neffinger intends to keep the change under 10 percent per year.
