Chesapeake Beach council weighs short-term water and sewer relief, funds for outside audit

The Town Council of Chesapeake Beach discussed multiple short-term proposals to reduce water and sewer bills and agreed to pursue a professional audit to guide longer-term rate changes.

Councilmember Laurie said the council faces “a very serious issue” after residents reported large, uneven increases in bills. “We need professionals,” Laurie said, stressing the need for data and an expert analysis before final policy changes. Laurie presented a draft proposal that would replace the lowest usage tier with fixed fees (examples used in the discussion: a 0–4,000 gallon tier and a 0–6,000 gallon tier) and estimated a quarterly cost of roughly $116,440.24 to the town for that approach if applied for a quarter and refunded for prior quarters.

Nut graf: Councilmembers spent most of the discussion trying to reconcile three competing short-term options — a 20% blanket bill credit tied to internal budget transfers, a tiered fixed-fee adjustment targeted at lower-volume households, and a compromise 10% credit plus a $50 sewer fixed-fee credit — while also pressing staff to speed up procurement of a full, “bottom-up” audit and rate study from a consultant known in the packet as NewGen.

Jamie Schulz, vice president of the council, outlined the three-phase approach he supports: immediate short-term relief for two billing cycles; a full long-term audit and rate study; and partner…