Selectmen Considering 8 % Water Rates Hike

Norfolk selectmen are considering in­creasing town water rates by 8 percent. It would be the first change in the water rates since July 1, 2007, when a new tier system was implemented that brought in less water revenue. The last in­crease, which was a doubling, took place in 2004. Selectmen put off a decision earlier this week, but they showed interest in the increase to eliminate a deficit in the annual operating budget for town water, which serves about 2,200 customers in Norfolk. The current rates for Norfolk town water are: $4.75 per 1,000 gallons for 0 to 15,000 gallons

$5.70 per 1,000 gallons for 15,001 to 35,000 gallons $7.41 per 1,000 gallons for 35,001 to 50,000 gallons

$10.37 per 1,000 gallons for 50,001 gallons and more

Meanwhile, selectmen pushed back against a proposal to bring on a super­intendent for the water division of the town’s Department of Public Works with­out spending less money on an outside water consultant. The town’s public works director, Remo “Butch” Vito, presented his recom­mended town water budget for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, 2010, this past Monday night. It calls for an increase of about $83,000, coming from debt ser­vice, an increase in the cost of chemicals, and a personnel increase. Vito is asking for a $65,000-a-year water superintendent. The water division would retain a foreman, but wouldn’t filla $45,000-a-year laborer-truck driver position that is currently vacant.

“The department will still be two-staffed, it will be a superintendent and a foreman, to start to put together future projections to start bringing more staff in and relying more on in-house staff than contract service,” Vito said.

The idea is to eventually rely less on Whitewater, a firm the town relies heavily on now to run its water system.

But selectmen balked at Vito’s pro­posal to spend about the same amount of money, about $110,000, on the outside consulting firm in fiscal year 2011. “Why is it not possible if we’re getting a licensed person in place to ease out Whitewater at a faster rate?” Selectman Jim Lehan asked.

Vito said the town needs Whitewater for help not only with water quality but also the distribution, in­cluding hydrant flushing. “There’s a bunch of things on the table that need to be kind of settled out. A new person coming in, I don’t think he’s going to jump right in and settle it. We’ve got a ways to go to hand this person a stable, for lack of words, water system …” Vito said.

Vito said it’s possible the new water superinten­dent could lead to a cost savings next fiscal year, but that he wants to get the new superintendent on board first before assuming savings.

But Lehan, the chairman of the Board of Select­men, argued that a new superintendent ought to bring savings in consulting services that can be reflected in the budget for the coming fiscal year.

“We’re trying to wean ourselves off of these out­side services. We’re trying to bring this capability in house. If we don’t build that in, it becomes very easy to keep it there. It becomes too easy, quite frankly, to keep it there,” Lehan said, But Town Administrator Jack Hathaway noted that town officials in recent years have shown con­cern about various problems with town water — most especially the pinhole leaks that keep occurring in ho­meowners’ underground water pipes, requiring resi­dents to replace their water pipes.

Town officials last year determined that a chemi­cal that the town added to the water to address wa­ter quality problems inadvertently helped cause the pinhole leaks in the water pipes, but that the town isn’t responsible for the problem because it was using a standard practice in the industry to address a di­rective

from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Hathaway suggested during the selectmen’s meet­ing this past Monday night that righting the water de­partment ship is more important than showing cost savings next fiscal year.

“What’s the biggest priority? … The biggest prior­ity has been to get the water department stabilized. How much time have we spent talking about leaks and things over the last two years? We’re trying to bring in a water superintendent, based on the discus­sions

we all had, bring some in-house expertise here. And that’s what we’re trying to do. Now we need to transition. … And as Butch said, if we can save things mid-year, we will. But the most important thing is we need some knowledge in-house. And that’s what we’re trying to do right now, upgrading the personnel that we have.”

Selectman Jim Tomaszewski said that town offi­cials can’t do much about the cost increases for the coming fiscal year for debt service and chemicals to treat the water. (The price of a certain chemical has gone up dramatically and the town figures to use about double the amount it formerly used, Vito said.)

But that just makes the water superintendent in­crease more jarring, Tomaszewski said. “I think, to Jim’s point, not putting any savings in the budget is almost a little bit like an affront to the ratepayers,” Tomaszewski said, especially consider­ing a possible rate hike. “I’m concerned that there isn’t a reflection of the weaning, even if it’s symbolic,” Garrity said. “And I understand that, but I think the weaning phase will be next year, and then you’d see your ex­penses go down and your staff come in,” Vito said. “… We need to have someone that has the knowledge and the ability to run this division.”

Vito noted he has tried to consolidate public works functions in recent years. He plans next fiscal year to merge the vehicle maintenance division and solid waste division. Last year the Department of Public Works merged the highway division with the grounds division, Vito said.

“But this is the area of management that we re­ally believe you need that expertise. And it just isn’t to wean [off] Whitewater, it’s to make sure that this wa­ter

system stays up to the standards that it’s supposed to. Again, we’ve had a lot of problems over the years, whether it be with chemical issues or well issues, our wells going dry and cleaning and things,” Vito said. Hathaway said upgrading the water division is key. “The trade here wasn’t between contract services and personnel. The trade here was an upgrade in the personnel, going from a foreman and a staff to a superintendent and a foreman. The idea is to try to build a smarter department, a more experienced de­partment,” Hathaway said. Hathaway said that if the water division sees cost decreases early in the new fiscal year, then the budget could be adjusted at Special Town Meeting in the fall to reflectthe savings. Lehan asked for a commitment from the public works department to revisit the topic in about six months. Retained earnings for the water division is down to about $56,000, down from about $800,000 a few years ago. The drop is because the water division used retained earnings to pay for certain capital projects rather than taking on debt, Lehan said. The water rates hearing was continued to 7 p.m. Monday, March 22.