Mount Airy water and sewer panel urges 8% annual rate increases to stop recurring deficits

Mount Airy, Md. — At the July 7 Mount Airy Town Council meeting, Vic Swanson, chair of the town’s Water and Sewer Commission, told the council the town’s water and sewer enterprise is running recurring deficits and recommended the council introduce an ordinance to raise user rates by 8% in the first year followed by 8% in each of the next two years.

Swanson said the enterprise fund is not operating on a breakeven basis and that “funds are routinely taken from reserves to cover costs that are not recovered through fees.” He said reserves fell by $1,589,000 — a 27% decline — between February 2022 and May 2025 and cited a $517,000 programmed deficit in the current budget. He also presented line items cited by the commission: annual operating costs of about $3,100,000, water and sewer capital costs of about $4,980,000, and recurring operating items including…