Proposed Water/Sewer Rates Would Mean a $63 Increase for Average Newton Homeowner

City officials presented the proposed rates on May 6, and the Board of Aldermen will vote on them at a future meeting.

Proposed Water/Sewer Rates Would Mean a $63 Increase for Average Newton Homeowner

City officials presented the proposed rates on May 6, and the Board of Aldermen will vote on them at a future meeting.

  The average Newton homeowner could see a $63 increase to his/her annual water and sewer bill next year if current proposed rates pass through the Board of Aldermen. The fiscal 2014 proposed rates were presented to the Board on May 6 by Department of Public Works Director of Water/Sewer Fred Russell and Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux.  The aldermen met in a Committee of the Whole Monday night to discuss the rates and ultimately decided to hold off on a final vote. The estimated $63 increase to annual bills is based on the city's average household water use, which is 95 HCF (hundred cubic feet) per year, Lemieux said. If passed by the board, the rates will go into effect July 1, 2013.  Below is a chart showing the likely bill …

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Average Newton Home to See $51 Increase to Water/Sewer Bill

Meanwhile, the city has started moving on 11- and 20-year plans to tackle serious inflow and infiltration problems in the water and sewer system that are costing the city millions of dollars every year.

Following last night's approval of new water/sewer rates, yearly water/sewer bills for the average Newton homeowner will increase by roughly $51 in fiscal 2013. The Board of Aldermen last night voted 21-0 in favor of a 3.9 percent increase to the city's water/sewer rates, which will take effect July 1, 2012.  According to Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux, who presented the rates at last night's public hearing, the city administration has developed a plan that will allow the water/sewer rates to remain stable over the next ten years, rather than having large increases that vary year to year.  "Our goal was to have a dependable, stable rate increase," Lemieux said. "As we put this plan together, our intent to have the rates increase …

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Fiscal 2012 Budget

Newton Water/Sewer Rates to Increase 7.7 Percent

An amendment to the rate increase proposed a jump to 9.1 percent from 7.7 percent, but aldermen turned down the motion.

In a close vote last night, the Board of Aldermen decided to forego an amendment that would raise the recommended 7.7 percent water/sewer rate increase to a 9.1 percent increase in fiscal 2012. The additional increase, which was projected to gather around $600,000, was proposed to help assess Newton’s aging and deteriorating water/sewer infrastructure. The original 7.7 percent increase proposed by the mayor, which was presented in a hearing a few weeks ago, increases the average resident’s water bill by $94 in fiscal 2012 (based on 95 hundred cubit feet of water used). The additional 1.4 percent would add another $16 onto those bills each year. To read more information on how the water/sewer rates work and the proposed increase, check out …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Charlie Shapiro

4:43 pm on Saturday, May 21, 2011

Mary is right. It's important that the city invest resources to fix and update the system. The Mayor has proposed an amount as part of his budget. This item called for an increased amount and many thought it was not the time to have an increase on top of an increase. Others, including me, thought we should see what the volume and revenue from the new water meters is before any additional action. …   more ›

Newton Water/Sewer Rates: Too Much or Too Little?

Aldermen considered a 7.7% increase to water/sewer rates at a hearing Monday night.

The average Newton resident could see an increase of about $94 to his or her water/sewer bill in fiscal 2012 if the current rate proposal passes through the Board of Aldermen. The rate, which will be voted on later this month with the city budget, is a 7.7% increase from those in fiscal 2011. To view our breakdown of the rate increase, read an earlier article here. But during Monday night’s hearing on the water and sewer rates, one question circulated the floor for some time: is the rate increase enough? Working out the Rate Assessments done by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) are the largest chunk of the water and sewer budgets, explained Interim DPW Commissioner David Turocy. While salaries make up 17.7 percent of the …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)