Selectmen discuss sewer-rate structure and reject homeowner abatement for lawn watering

The North Brookfield Board of Selectmen fielded an extended discussion on Sept. 23 about changes to sewer billing after a recent wastewater treatment upgrade and then voted to reject an individual abatement request.

Board members and residents spent much of the agenda item examining how the town will recover debt tied to a sewer‑system upgrade. Town officials said the sewer upgrade’s loan repayments were incorporated into bills as a fixed per‑user finance charge while operating rates per gallon over the usage minimum changed only slightly.

A resident urged the town to consider quarterly billing to ease large single bills for people on fixed incomes; several speakers — including members of the public and at least one selectman — encouraged the sewer commissioners to study quarterly or tiered billing, and to consider separate residential/commercial/industrial schedules. A town spokesperson said quarterly billing and tiering are options that the sewer commission can examine and bring back with a plan.

On the current bill structure, officials said the invoice that residents just received combined the existing minimum charge and the first installment of the new finance charge because the town’s prior billing vendor could not show the two items separately on that final bill. Town staff said the next bill, produced by the new vendor, will itemize the charges and show a $100 minimum plus a roughly $130 finance charge for the upgrade as separate line items.

Abatement request and vote: Peter Muse (spelled in meeting as Peter Muse) asked for a sewer abatement after increased usage driven by watering a new lawn. Town staff noted the town’s long‑standing rule that sewer charges are based on water usage unless a household installs a deduct meter to measure water that does not enter the sewer system. Board members referenced prior cases (a documented leak, a hose left in a bucket) as precedents for one‑time abatements but emphasized that a voluntary decision to water a lawn is different from an undetected leak or confirmed infrastructure failure.

A motion to reject the abatement request was made and seconded; the board voted in favor. The audio record shows the motion carried with the board answering “Aye” on the roll call. The applicant said he would pay the bill.

Next steps: Selectmen encouraged residents to present policy proposals to the sewer commission, including tiered rates and quarterly billing, and to attend sewer‑commission meetings. Officials also said the sewer commission will continue to refine billing policies — including procedures for deduct meters and whether finance charges should be spread differently across user classes — and will report back to the board.

Ending: The board instructed the sewer commission to take up quarterly/tiered billing options and to produce an explicit policy around deduct‑meter use and one‑time abatements.