LWSC seeks rate hike

LYNN – Water and Sewer officials say they are holding the line on expenses but need a 2.8-percent rate increase partly to offset money lost to local housing foreclosures.The proposed increase under review over the next week by the Water and Sewer Commission boosts the combined rate the commission charges customers from $8.88 per 100 cubic feet of water used to $9.13.Depending on how much water they use, residential ratepayers will see an increase in their bill ranging from $17.50 to $25. Commission Chief Financial Officer David Travers said efforts to control costs and the commission debt associated with long term projects has helped keep rates in check.”For the last couple of years we’ve been able to stay below 3 percent,” Travers said.The $26.3 million budget under review by the commission represents a 1 percent increase in spending over the budget for the fiscal year slated to end on June 30. Although top commercial water users like Garelick Farms and General Electric continue buying water, residential consumption has dropped as banks and mortgage companies foreclose on local homes.”We’re at the mercy of the bank’s ability to turn a property over,” Travers said.Water and Sewer’s proposed rate increase is less than the 4.8 percent rate hike announced in February by the Massachusetts Water Resou-rces Authority.Lynn water and sewer rates climbed by 14 percent in 2006 and then 11 percent in 2007 as declining consumption and the loss of major business customers prompted the rate boost.Health care and energy costs have been major past expenses for the commission, but successful efforts to negotiate lower rates with insurance providers and utilities have helped reduce these costs.Debt is always a significant expense for the commission with 37 cents of every rate dollar being used to pay for major projects like the still-unfinished storm and sewer drain separation project designed to reduce or end the release of partially treated sewage into the ocean.With a federal mandate to end discharges looming this year, the commission needs to obtain federal and state environmental approval to finish the project. The project had a $65 million price tag in 2004.Commission contractors undertook separation projects in 2008 but significant work has not been undertaken since 2003.