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 negotiations with neighboring jurisdictions on items such as EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) accounting and the town’s water and sewer manual. “Phase 1 is some short-term relief,” Schulz said. He described the short-term measures as designed to bridge to a fuller analysis before the June budget vote and the start of the FY 2026 budget cycle in July.

Councilmember Eric (last name not specified) and others proposed a straightforward, temporary 20% credit off the bottom-line bill for the next two quarters, paired with moving portions of staff salary expenses that are currently charged to the utility fund back to the general fund. Supporters said shifting those salary costs would reduce the utility fund’s operating expenses and allow the town to fund the short-term discount without permanently lowering the adopted rate schedule. Staff cited past budget entries showing utility-fund salaries rose sharply between 2023 and 2025 and noted the 2025 utility fund included significantly higher salary charges than prior years.

A compromise plan presented by another councilmember would reduce the proposed 20% to a 10% credit and also apply a $50 credit to the sewer fixed fee for two billing cycles; council members ran sample bills for an 11,000-gallon household to compare the effects of each plan. Councilmembers repeatedly cautioned that billing-system limitations could affect feasibility. The town has submitted a support ticket to Tyler Technologies (the billing vendor) to confirm whether a temporary credit can be programmed quickly and which features (percentage credit, tiered edits, or fixed-fee credits) are feasible in time for the next billing cycle.

Town Attorney Alyssa told councilmembers that an emergency ordinance can be used to waive normal notice periods if the council finds an emergency; she also said the published meeting notice contained only titles, not final draft language, and that council could change the draft language before introduction. “You don’t have to vote in favor of [declaring] an emergency,” she said, adding that emergency ordinances are meant to be rare because they reduce public-review time.

Councilmembers asked staff to prepare draft emergency ordinance language that would: (1) apply a temporary percentage credit for two billing cycles (Q3 and Q4 as discussed), (2) exclude capital-connection fees, Chesapeake Bay restoration fees, inspection and testing fees and arrears from the discount, and (3) specify whether credits apply to fixed fees or the variable usage portion of bills. Staff confirmed the draft now excludes capital connections and similar non-usage charges and that arrears would be excluded.

Separately, the council discussed funding and fast-tracking a consultant. Similia (town administrator) and others said the council had already used the mayor’s $10,000 spending authority to start NewGen’s initial, educational phase (phase 1). Councilmembers expressed support for funding phase 2 — a full rate and financial audit — and one councilmember asked to authorize the mayor to enter an agreement “not to exceed $100,000” to deliver services including rate analysis, operating-cost review, an EDU audit and a water and sewer manual update. Staff said the exact phase-2 scope is modular (task-by-task) and can be tailored to partner needs; councilmembers indicated they prefer a single contractor do the work if partners agree to cost-sharing.

Council members repeatedly emphasized the need for clarity before adopting a permanent rate change. “We need an expert and a full bottom-up review,” Schulz said. Staff said NewGen expects to need some time to get and analyze the town’s records and that its educational presentation (phase 1) will be scheduled for the next regular council meeting, when residents can ask questions.

Discussion and direction, not final action: The work session produced consensus to draft emergency-ordinance language and to seek rapid confirmation from the billing vendor about technical feasibility. The council directed staff to prepare an emergency ordinance for consideration at the next regular meeting and to include language enabling procurement of the consultant phase 2 for the council to approve.