SWAMPSCOTT — The town is considering implementing a tiered water and sewer rate system based on usage in order to ensure fairness for all ratepayers.
At a Select Board meeting Tuesday, board members reviewed the proposed rate system, which would set both a base rate and consumption rate based on the level of consumption in each building.
“For years we’ve seen a real inequity in how our community pays for this critical resource,” said Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. “It is the town’s responsibility to ensure that the cost of water is shared as fairly among consumers as possible while also upholding our responsibility as a town to control these costs and keep them as low as possible. The proposed changes will ensure that every resident pays the same cost per gallon for water and sewer. That is not the case currently and the equitable thing to do is to fix this now.”
In fiscal year 2021, the water rate for all ratepayers was a base of $13.25 per quarter plus $7.11 per 100 cubic feet of water; the sewer rate was $20 base per quarter plus $5.58 per 100 cubic feet.
Under the new proposed system, ratepayers would be divided into three tiers based on their consumption. Those in the lowest tier would pay the same base rate as last year, plus $7.33 per 100 cubic feet for water and $5.75 per hundred cubic feet for sewer. In tier two, residents would pay a base rate of $13.65 for water and $20.60 for sewer, along with consumption rates of $7.60 for water and $6.50 for sewer. The users with the highest consumption would pay the same base rate as those in tier two, with consumption rates of $7.80 for water and $7.20 for sewer.
Based on the proposed rate structure, 80 percent of ratepayers in Swampscott will see an increase of less than $75 in fiscal year 2022.
The Select Board created a new committee in September to research and create a new billing system. The board sets water and sewer rates annually, a process which is largely based on charges from Lynn Sewer District and the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority.
Select Board member Neal Duffy, who also sits on the Water and Sewer Rate Advisory Committee, said that the proposed tiered system was the best way to organize the town’s rates.
“This was not an easy solution,” Duffy said. “I believe, with the expertise at the table, we have determined the best option for ensuring fairness for all ratepayers.”
The Select Board will vote on whether to approve the new water and sewer rates at its next meeting on Aug. 25. Water and sewer bills will be sent to residents in late August.
