Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sewer Rates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bel Air staff proposes 10% sewer rate increase to shore up capital reserves and cover county bulk-rate hikes
Summary
Town finance staff proposed a two-part sewer-rate rise — the automatic CPI adjustment plus a 7.4% supplemental increase for a total 10% — to cover rising Harford County treatment charges, rebuild a sewer capital reserve and fund pump station and lining projects.
Chair opened the Board of Town Commissioners’ budget work session and finance staff laid out a proposal to raise town sewer rates above the annual CPI increase.
Director of Finance (Miss Moody) said the town will apply the automatic CPI adjustment (2.6%) and seek an additional 7.4% increase — a total 10% change — that would raise the sewer charge from $7.50 to $8.25 per 1,000 gallons. "When you break it down, it's roughly $7 a month or $85 a year for a household using 9,000 gallons," Miss Moody said, offering a concrete example of household impact.
Miss Moody and public works staff framed the request as a response to substantial increases in Harford County’s bulk treatment rate. "Since FY22 the county's rate has risen by about 50%," Miss Moody said, adding that the town’s cumulative increases have been far smaller. She emphasized the town is not simply passing the county charge through to customers but needs additional revenue to cover county charges and to begin funding capital needs.
The finance director said the supplemental revenues would be placed, as appropriate, into the sanitary sewer capital improvement reserve. She noted the town recently transferred $250,000 into that reserve and that its balance is currently just under $429,000. "My goal would be to build a capital reserve so we are not forced into emergency borrowing when a pumping station needs replacement," Miss Moody said.
Public works described capital needs the increased revenue would support: a planned $165,000 engineering and upgrade design for the Kelly Avenue pump station and a roughly $250,000 lining project to rehabilitate approximately 1,200 linear feet of 15-inch sanitary main to prevent inflow and infiltration. Steve (public works, Mister Klein) said the lining uses a cured-in-place fiberglass method that avoids open excavation and extends pipe life.
Staff also requested an $80,000 vehicle purchase for the sewer crew and summarized how some ARPA-funded projects will be recorded as capital and depreciated over time; the board discussed recognizing ARPA revenue into the capital reserve to smooth future budgets.
Miss Moody said she will draft an ordinance to change sewer rates for introduction June 1, with a public hearing later in June and an effective date timed to align with July billing. The board did not vote on the rate at the work session; the measure will be brought back for formal hearings and a later vote.
The item remains subject to further refinement by staff and the board, including final calculations for different customer classes and any subsequent Harford County rate notices.
