Brewster Hikes Outside Water Rates Less Than Originally Proposed
Southeast residents who purchase water from the Village of Brewster will have a one-year price hike next year, but it will not be as high as the board of trustees previously proposed.
The village board voted unanimously on Sept. 30 to increase water rates by $800 annually for about 45 homes in the town who receive village water to pay for water main repairs. The trustees had previously sought a $1,2000 hike next year to pay for repairs.
The impetus for the rate hike is an outstanding balance of $220,000 owed to the village by around 15 Southeast property owners who have not paid their water bills, according to the trustees.
Repairs to the aging water pipes have cost the village $50,000, and since the village is unable by law to make repairs itself it must contract the work out at a higher cost than in-house work. A state court ruled the pipes are under the town’s jurisdiction, not the village.
At last week’s special meeting, Mayor James Schoenig said the board decided to reduce the hike after listening to concerned residents at a public hearing earlier in the month. “We heard a lot at the last meeting,” he said.
The first quarterly payment will be due in January 2016.
Trustee Christine Piccini said the extra dollars are needed to do repairs including fixing pipes and village should not be responsible for the picking up the cost from town residents.
Schoenig said he was scheduled to meet later in the week with Southeast Supervisor Tony Hay and officials from the Putnam County Health Department and others about water issues between the village and the town.
“The pipes need to be replaced,” Schoenig said.
The cost of replacing the pipes would be $1.3 million, Schoenig said. “You can keep patching it, but eventually they have to be replaced,” he said.
Schoenig said a pipe replacement project could be bonded and paid off by residents over a period of up to 30 years. Village Clerk and Treasurer Peter Hansen said a 20-year bond would cost residents in the water district about $800 per year.
Though the rate hike was lower than originally sought, Southeast residents said they were still opposed to the extra payment. Southeast resident Joseph Lurca said he was retired and could not afford the extra $800 next year. “I can’t go out and make more money,” he said. Schoenig said he understood why town residents would object to the higher rates next year, but he could not ask village residents to pay for something they should not be responsible for.
Piccini said she did not know if town residents who use village water would pay an additional fee in 2017. That would occur if more repairs would need to be made by the village, she said.
Schoenig said the additional $800 “would make us whole” in terms of paying for previous repairs, The additional payment of $400, which was originally proposed by the village, would have provided funding for potential future breaks, Hansen said.
Schoenig said the additional $800 for village residents would be for 2016 only. He said he did not know if the same additional rate would be charged in the future.
