NISKAYUNA — New water and sewer rate increases are set to roll out between July 1 and the end of next year after the Town Board unanimously approved new rates at a recent meeting.
Under the adjusted rates, the water portion of residents’ utility bills will increase by approximately $63 per year by the end of 2024, while users in Sewer District 6 will see the sewer portion of their utility bills increase by approximately $54 per year.
Sewer District 1 users are set to see their bills decrease by approximately $18 per year by the end of next year.
In 2022, the water district brought in $245,047 less than was budgeted for, while Sewer District 6 brought in $229,959 less than the town budgeted for. The Sewer District 1 fund ran a surplus of $78,986 in 2022.
“We did a five-year analysis and we saw that the water and sewer funds had been running deficits for several years since 2018 and we knew that was not sustainable,” Niskayuna Supervisor Jaime Puccioni said. “Water and sewer rates should be set so that the town neither makes money nor loses money. So we knew we had to adjust those.”
In a series of public presentations in the lead-up to the final board vote on May 23, Town Comptroller Beth Greenwood explained that under the new rates, residents will be billed based on the amount of water that they use, with Greenwood noting that the new rates should encourage conservation.
“Sewer 1 had previously been billed as a lump sum on the tax bill with no consideration for actual use,” Greenwood said at the April 25 Town Board meeting. “This was not equitable, especially for households using less water and therefore producing less sewage to be treated. Previous water and Sewer 6 rates had been calculated using the base amount, which did not encourage water conservation. Once users hit a particular threshold, they were billed a flat rate, which actually discourages conservation.”
Under the approved rates, water service will be billed at a residential base of $78 for a six-month cycle, with a rate of $4.40 per 1,000 gallons used over the minimum usage of 9,490 gallons per six months.
Sewer District 6 users will be charged $3.55 per 1,000 gallons used over the minimum usage of 14,235 gallons per six months, with a base residential rate of $79 per six months.
Sewer District 1 homes will see a base residential rate of $155 per six months under the new rates, with a rate of $4.53 per 1,000 gallons used over the minimum usage of 14,235 gallons per six months.
“It was the fiscally responsible thing to do because if we’re continuously running a deficit, then we have to pull from each of those funds and their specific fund balances to make up those deficits,” Puccioni said of the new rates.
Contact Ted Remsnyder at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @TedRemsnyder.
Categories: News, Schenectady County, Your Niskayuna
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Puccioni claims it was fiscally responsible to raise sewer and water fees. Why? These areas were not under funded before she became Supervisor. It is CONSERVATIVE not to continue to bleed Niskayuna taxpayers in light of the already high taxes. Does she feel that Niskayuna taxpayers are using too much water?