SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board voted unanimously to adopt a 6.2% increase to the town’s water rate and an 18.2% increase to its sewer rate for fiscal year 2025, equating to an estimated increase of approximately $111 in annual costs for the average homeowner.
In June, Director of Finance and Administration Amy Sarro and town Treasurer Patrick Luddy detailed two potential rate options the board had to choose between. The other option was a 7.5% and 19.5% increase to water and sewer rates, respectively.
“I favor the less expensive to the taxpayer option,” Chair MaryEllen Fletcher said.
Since 2020, Swampscott’s combined rate increase for sewer and water has not been more than 4% in any given year. Vice Chair Katie Phelan emphasized that the relatively large increase is not just a one-year occurrence.
“Because of our deficit of the past 15 years, we have to be on the incline for the foreseeable future,” Phelan said. “I just want to really manage expectations of the public.”
Swampscott recently went below its recommended 20% of retained earnings. According to Sarro and Luddy, the approved rate option for the year could increase the percentage up to 17%.
The board also voted unanimously to adopt a green-power rate of $14.83 per kilowatt hour for the next three years as part of the community aggregation program.
“People here in Swampscott alone since 2016 have saved $7.7 million because of this aggregation,” Board member Doug Thompson said.
According to Thompson, more than 4,000 Swampscott households are part of the green-power program. He added that every household avoids the use of approximately 2,200 pounds of CO2 per year.
