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Needham select board approves phased water and sewer rate increase; alternative 70 to take effect July 1
Summary
After weeks of committee work, the Select Board voted to adopt Alternative 70 — a phased rate plan for water and sewer that the town says balances affordability and utility solvency. The decision includes a $85/1,000-gallon septage fee and takes effect July 1, 2025.
Select Board members voted unanimously June 24 to adopt a phased set of water and sewer rate changes — identified as Alternative 70 — that town staff and the Water and Sewer Rate Structure Committee say will raise necessary revenue while moderating year-to-year spikes.
The board approved the measure for an effective date of July 1, 2025; the motion also set a septage disposal fee of $85 per 1,000 gallons.
The vote follows several public discussions and a committee recommendation that narrowed 88 possible rate structures to three alternatives (70, 64 and 16). The committee and staff told the board that declining billed volumes — largely driven by conservation and by the loss of a very large commercial water account — had left fixed costs concentrated on a shrinking base of usage. “When one uses one less gallon of water, that's the most…
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