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Harrison board approves 20% water rate increase after Westchester Joint Water Works briefing
Summary
The Town/Village of Harrison voted to raise municipal water rates 20% following discussion of Westchester Joint Water Works capital projects and concern about how bond debt would be reflected in rates. Officials said they asked the water district for a clearer debt-service breakout.
Supervisor Tom Scappatici asked the board to approve a 20% increase in the town’s water rates going forward and called for clarity on how Westchester Joint Water Works would allocate bond debt.
“Can I get a motion to approve a 20% increase in the water rates going forward?” Scappatici said, after listing capital projects the district had proposed for which Harrison would pay a share.
The board had been presented with several capital projects from Westchester Joint Water Works, including a Park Lane water storage tank rehabilitation and transmission-main work; the agenda listed total project costs and Harrison’s share for each. Scappatici and other board members said they pressed the county water district to separate routine operating costs from long-term debt so residents could see how each would affect bills.
“We asked them to break out the actual cost of the bonding for this water filtration plant,” Scappatici said, arguing that the operational rate should not carry long-term debt service. “If I build it into the water rate, your water rate will never come down.”
Several board members said the initial proposals from the district had been far higher — figures discussed earlier included requests as high as 51% initially and later 30–35% — and that the town’s goal was to negotiate a lower, more predictable increase. One member said aloud, “20 sounds crazy,” before the group agreed a reduced, flat rate tied to meter size could be more equitable.
After discussion and a motion, the board voted to approve a 20% increase in water rates. Officials said they had requested a legal opinion from Westchester Joint Water Works about rate design and asked the district to provide separate line items showing the portion of increases attributable to bond debt and the portion attributable to operations.
The action will change residents’ bills beginning with the next billing cycle under the water district’s schedule; the town said it expects follow-up information from Westchester Joint Water Works about the debt-service breakdown and the bond schedule. The board also approved the specific capital projects that had been endorsed by the Joint Water Works board, with Harrison accepting its stated shares for each project.
The board’s vote was procedural and final for the town’s endorsement of the rate increase; the water district will provide additional documentation on debt and rate structure in subsequent communications, officials said.
The board took the vote during its Feb. 5 meeting and approved the motion. The town will await detailed backup from Westchester Joint Water Works on bond timing and the effect on future rates.
