TOWN OF DEWITT – During its Nov. 28 meeting, the DeWitt Town Board accepted proposed changes to the town’s water and sprinkler rates.
While presenting at the podium in front of the council, Water Superintendent Matt Reynolds said rates needed to be increased because costs have gone up for the municipality to purchase water and cover fuel charges at the same time that more money will be required to work on impending projects and attend to emergency repairs.
After holding a public hearing that Monday evening to consider suggested changes brought forward by Reynolds, the board authorized both a 15% increase to the current water rates and a boost to non-metered fire line charges.
Fire lines are the pipes serving houses and other buildings that contain a fallback supply of water for fire protection purposes. The charge per inch of unmetered line was raised to $100 from $50, a fee figure that had been in place since 2008 according to Reynolds.
The approval for another pair of proposed water-related changes was set aside for a later date since they require amendments to the town code.
One entails the addition of a 20% late fee to charges for water rents not paid within 30 days. As it stands, the code mentions a late charge of only 10%.
The other recommendation from Reynolds called for the placement of a $15 infrastructure improvement fee on every water bill.
The municipality purchases water from the City of Syracuse and the Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) for around $2 million a year, and DeWitt residents are billed semiannually for water.
Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko said the Town’s options are to reinvest in its system and continue to provide “high-quality” water at a rate competitive with other municipalities supplied by OCWA or else “surrender the system.”
“Therefore we have to do what I feel is necessary to increase our forms of revenue, and one of the most efficient ways is to increase it through the bill,” Michalenko said. “Our other option is to increase it through the tax rate.”
He stated that entities like OCWA have found alternative ways to collect revenue that DeWitt has not pursued, like the imposition of a hydrant usage fee.
Reynolds said he estimates the four changes to generate about $875,000 in revenue over the course of a year if authorized by the board.