Ordinance committee backs $8.76 sewer rate recommendation after debate on who should pay for street sweeping

The Holyoke City Ordinance Committee on Tuesday recommended that the full council set the city nd—nterprise sewer rate at $8.76 per 1,000 gallons, a partial compromise between the administration nd some councilors who had pushed for a higher, revenue‑neutral charge.

Chair Meg McGrath Smith said the committee cted on a package of Board of Public Works recommendations and consultant analysis that together framed the city—nterprise—und—udget and the rate options before the committee. "This rate would help fully fund the enterprise system," McGrath Smith said during deliberations.

Consultant Mark Abrahams of the Abrahams Group walked the committee through the model the board used to set an initial proposed rate of $9.11. Abrahams said the revenue requirement included an $8.6 million operating budget, about $2.1 million in debt service and a projected shortfall for the current fiscal year; after roughly $1 million in non‑flow revenue, the remaining amount to recover from users produced a $9.11 per‑1,000‑gallon charge. "The proposed rate represents a 21% increase," Abrahams told the committee, and he estimated the average residential bill would rise to about $133 per quarter from about $109 now.

Councilors debated whether some services now charged to the sewer enterprise should instead be paid from the general fund. Abrahams and DPW staff quantified the three most talked‑about items: street sweeping (about $399,379), stormwater (about $155,821) and flood control (about $156,897). Abrahams said removing only street sweeping from the rate calculation would lower the modeled sewer charge to roughly $8.76; removing all three items would lower it further toward $8.50.

Several councilors framed the question as one of who should pay rather than whether the city needs the revenue. Councilor Bacon proposed amending the motion to move all three citywide services into the general fund and set an $8.50 sewer rate; that motion failed. Bacon argued that shifting those costs to the general fund would avoid "nickeling and diming" residents with new fees. Other councilors said moving services between funds would not reduce total government spending unless cuts were also made elsewhere in the budget.

Opponents of immediately adopting the higher $9.11 figure also asked whether taxpayers on septic systems — who do not receive sewer service — would see an offsetting tax reduction if the enterprise were fully funded. DPW staff and the consultant said collecting the full amount from ratepayers would mean the city would not need to subsidize the sewer fund from the general fund, but they cautioned that unrelated tax or levy decisions could still push property taxes upward.

After discussion and several motions the committee approved, by roll call, the recommendation to send an $8.76 per‑1,000‑gallon sewer rate to the full council for final action. Recorded votes during committee consideration included Councilors Rivera, Talheimer, Panitch and McGrath Smith voting yes and Councilor Bacon recorded as no. The committee chair said the recommendation will be transmitted with the committee record and consultant materials.

Next steps: the committee—orwarded the rate recommendation to full council; full council will consider the ordinance language and a legal form before finalizing and setting the billing rate.