Call for water hikes 4 of 5 years

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November 5, 2009

By Bethany Bray

Andover residents will pay more for their water beginning next month. The price of Andover tap water could increase again and again four of the next five years.

Selectmen approved an increase of 27 cents per 100 cubic feet on Monday, Nov. 2, as a way to cover costs and refill depleted water reserves.

The increase will go into effect Dec. 1, and increase the average annual household water bill by $32. The jump from $2.65 to $2.92 per 100 cubic feet is expected to bring in an additional $700,000 per year.

In May 2009, Jack Petkus, director of Public Works, urged residents to approve money for a new roof at the Robert McQuade Water Treatment Plant, saying they would not face a rate increase this fiscal year. By September, Petkus and Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski were proposing the rate increase, along with a 14-percent water department budget reduction, as a way to address a water-budget deficit.

The water fund account has been spent down over the last five years on projects, said Stapczynski.

"We used the water reserve to pay for things that we should have, perhaps, been borrowing," he said. "We were paying out of our bank account, instead of running up debt."

Stapczynski also presented selectmen with a five-year budget plan for the water enterprise fund, created by Finance Director Tony Torrisi. The plan projects four rate increases in the next five years, bringing the rate to $3.22 per hundred cubic feet by fiscal year 2015. Selectmen would need to approve each hike.

"The five-year plan addresses the concerns that we're in now, but also rebuilds our reserves and gives an opportunity for budget planning (for the future)," Stapczynski told selectmen.

Selectmen Alex Vispoli and Brian Major suggested the board revisit the water budget each year, to check on the reserve fund.

Torrisi said the five-year plan is flexible, and can change based on water use and other cost changes.

Andover's water treatment plant sells water to other towns and its enterprise fund is a separate entity from the town's operating budget. Monday night's unanimous vote by selectmen (acting as water and sewer commissioners) also increased the rate for out-of-town consumers, from $3.18 to $3.50 per hundred cubic feet.

On July 1, 2008 Andover's water rate increased from $2.52 to $2.65 per hundred cubic feet, after a $16 million project was completed to expand the water treatment plant. The town's water rate had been at $2.52 for 14 years prior to 2008.

The full water budget and five-year rate projection is included in the Capital Improvement Program, beginning on page 90. The CIP is available at www.andoverma.gov, at Town Offices and Memorial Hall Library.

Water projects

Fiscal year 2010:

$500,000 for water main improvements

$250,000 for water instrumentation/chemical feed

$650,000 for water treatment plant roof

Fiscal year 2009:

$86,815 for the Fishbrook pumping station

Fiscal year 2008:

$500,000 for water main improvements

Fiscal year 2007:

$500,000 for water main improvements

$1 million for a remote water meter program