The Water and Sewer Departments have adopted their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year that starts on July 1, and scheduled the Annual Financial Meeting for June 12 when residents of the Water and Sewer District will vote to approve it.The Sewer Department projects total “revenues” of $1,786,137, although $54,813 will come from reserves. That is up eight percent from the budget for the current fiscal year. Of course, the revenues need to match anticipated expenses, with higher amounts for wages, electricity, fuel oil, and sludge disposal mainly driving the increase.In order to make up for the increased expenses, the Sewer Commission has approved a user fee increase of 10 percent. The winter rate that is in effect from Nov. 1 to April 30 will rise to $18.02 per thousand gallons from $16.38. The highest rate, in effect for July and August only, goes from $55.69 to $61.26. Rates for the shoulder seasons, which include May, June, September and October will be somewhere in between. Monthly customer charges will not go up.On the water side, the overall increase in the budget is 4.9 percent, or about $52,000.
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