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Palmyra introduces ordinance to pass Ramsey wholesale water increase to customers
Summary
Consultants told the Palmyra boards that Ramsey Water Company’s 13% wholesale increase would cost the utility about $76,000 a year and recommended a wholesale cost tracking factor of $0.97 per 1,000 gallons; the ordinance was read into the record and a public hearing was set for April 9.
Palmyra officials introduced an ordinance to amend municipal water rates that would pass through recent wholesale cost increases charged by Ramsey Water Company Incorporated.
Brandon Bark of CRO Associates told the Palmyra utility board the wholesale supplier raised rates roughly 13%, producing about $76,000 in additional annual costs for the town based on 2025 purchase and billing data. Bark recommended a wholesale-water cost tracking factor that would add $0.97 per 1,000 gallons — about a $2–$3 monthly increase for a typical household.
"If the town does nothing, that's going to be $76,000 a year as absorbing that as a hit to the water utility," Bark said, arguing that small, incremental adjustments avoid larger, compounded increases or the need to issue debt later.
Town attorney Travis Koy read the proposed ordinance into the record during the town-board portion of the meeting. The ordinance text states the Palmyra Water Utility purchases wholesale water from Ramsey Water Company Incorporated and that the council caused a wholesale cost tracking-factor (WCTF) analysis to be prepared by OW Kron and Associates LLP. The attorney read that the wholesale-water cost adjustment tracking factor applicable to usage rates is $0.97 per 1,000 gallons and that the schedule of rates and charges is incorporated into an appendix to the ordinance.
The ordinance was introduced (first reading) and the board set a public hearing for April 9 to accept public comment before any final vote. The attorney said publication and written notification to outside users will follow the introduction as required by law.
Council members and consultants discussed the utility’s cash-reserve position and the risks of absorbing wholesale increases. Consultants said they would review more recent year-end financials to clarify how the $76,000 pressure would affect operating reserves and long-term bonding needs.
Next steps: the ordinance proceeds to public notice and the April 9 hearing; no final vote on the ordinance occurred at the March 3 meeting.
