SAUGUS — On the third night of the annual Town Meeting, members voted to approve a 2.5 percent water rate increase.
The increase will result in an average increase of $12 per consumer.
Due to the pandemic, the town did not increase its water rate last year, but Finance Committee Chair Ken DePatto explained that they still received a higher-than-expected revenue in fiscal year 2021.
“Because of the pandemic, there was a greater use of resident water plus sewer, so that increase in water use and a dry summer increased the total overall water use, which actually contributed much more revenue to the enterprise fund than anticipated,” DePatto said. “It was an extraordinary year driven by the pandemic.”
In addition, Town Meeting members approved a water enterprise fund allocation of $7.78 million and a sewer enterprise fund allocation of $6.44 million.
Town Meeting members also voted to approve an operating budget of $371,680 for the PEG (Public, Educational and Governmental) Access studio and facility, which operates Saugus Community Television. The funds for this budget will come from the PEG Access Enterprise Fund, which is funded by fees paid through Comcast.
The Town Meeting warrant contains 24 articles, of which members have voted on 15. The moderator will call another meeting on Monday, June 7, provided that the Finance Committee is able to meet before that date to make recommendations on the remaining articles.
