DPW Director Edward Huntley estimates that the rate hikes will cost an individual an extra $13.94 per year for water and $15.64 in sewer fees.
Mountain Street water treatment plant.NORTHAMPTON – Looking to finance a proposed Department of Public Works facility, the Board of Public Works raised the water and sewer rates at its Wednesday meeting.
By agreement of the board, the cost of water will increase by 9.03 percent from $4.95 per hundred cubic feet to $4.54. The sewer rate will jump 9.5 percent from $4.84 to $5.30 per hundred cubic feet. Department of Public Works Director Edward S. Huntley estimates that the rate hikes will cost an individual an extra $13.94 per year for water and $15.64 in sewer fees. For a household of four, the added burden would be $49.20 a year for water, $55.20 for sewer.
Some of that rate hike would fund a proposed $16.6 million construction project to create a new building at the Locust Street facility for mechanics and other department employees and a storage barn for city equipment.
With the police station project about to get underway, the Department of Public Works is next in line for capital improvement. The 19th century barns now used to house snow plows and other heavy equipment lack adequate climate control, ventilation and bathroom facilities. Space restrictions in the Peter McNulty Administrative Building have forced some city engineers to work out of an antiquated Water Department building on Prospect Street.
In addition to the Locust Street project, the rate hikes will help pay off the cost of the $28 million water treatment plant at the Mountain Street Reservoir in Williamsburg, which has been on line since 2008.
Department officials have long warned that rates for water and sewer would be increasing over the next several years as the city is forced to deal with its deteriorating system of pipes, sewers and stormwater tunnels. Huntley said pumps and other machinery also have to be replaced as they wear down or become obsolete.
Also at the Wednesday meeting, the board voted to do away with the sticker system at the two transfer stations in favor of a bag system in which residents will dispose of household waste using bags they can purchase at various locations in Northampton. The new method was recommended by the Solid Waste Task Force as part of its assessment of the city’s future waste disposal needs. Huntley said the bags will come in several sizes, costing $.50, $1 or $2 depending on the size. The board of public works is still trying to determine a specific color for the bags that will distinguish them from bags used by other communities.
Ward 6 Councilor Marianne L. Labarge, who sits on the Solid Waste Task Force, said the rate hikes will be a bitter pill to swallow for some of her constituents.
“Their paychecks are not going up,” she said. “They can’t afford their taxes constantly going up. Something has to be done here.”
LaBarge suggested that the Board of Public Works hold informational hearings to explain the changes and gather input from residents.
“They have to start listening to the taxpayers,” she said.
