Merrimack council approves one‑year move to flat sewer rate for apartments

The Merrimack Town Council voted May 22 to raise sewer fees for apartment and condominium complexes to the residential flat rate of $357 per year, implementing the increase in a single step beginning July 1. The measure follows a rate study presented by consulting firm Wright‑Pierce that determined apartment complexes were paying substantially less per unit than single‑family homes for the same wastewater treatment services. Leo, a town public works presenter, told the council the discrepancy left apartment residents paying about $85 per unit under the existing practice and that aligning rates would increase annual revenue by roughly $350,000–$360,000. Town staff recommended applying the flat rate now rather than phasing it in over several years. "My recommendation is I feel like we should implement it all at once," Leo said during the presentation. Councilors debated whether to ease the change over two years but ultimately adopted the one‑year option; Councilor Tom made the motion and it passed 6–0. Council discussion clarified the administrative approach: the town will bill the property owner of each complex rather than individual renters, and owners may elect to pass the cost through in rent. Leo said the town will notify owners before bills change. The council also discussed how future biennial sewer rate adjustments will be applied equally to all residential accounts. The council and staff framed the move as correcting an equity issue in which different account structures had produced widely different per‑unit charges despite identical service demands on the wastewater system. Staff estimated the change would raise annual sewer revenue substantially and noted additional new housing units would further increase revenue. No regulatory citations were offered during the meeting beyond reference to the Wright‑Pierce rate study and the town’s existing billing system. Councilors asked staff to prepare owner notification materials and to confirm billing mechanics with the town’s billing vendor before the July implementation date.