Bennington Select Board approves FY27 water and sewer budgets after detailed infrastructure briefing

The Bennington Select Board on Monday approved the fiscal year 2027 water and sewer budgets after a detailed presentation by Department of Public Works staff on the condition of the town’s water and wastewater systems and a discussion of near-term capital needs.

Tom Haley, chair of the Bennington Select Board, opened the specially scheduled meeting and framed the main agenda item: the FY27 water and sewer budgets. Department of Public Works staff member Larry presented system metrics and project needs, saying, “We produce on average 1.7 million gallons a day” from a water system that dates to 1886 and serves roughly 13,000 users. He told the board the wastewater system averages about 4.4 million gallons per day and that the town maintains approximately 92 miles of water main and 67 miles of sewer main.

The presentation highlighted aging infrastructure and near-term projects. Staff described a lead-service-line replacement program started in 2018 that used a roughly $10.5 million grant and is now substantially complete; they also described slip-lining and manhole-lining work to reduce inflow and infiltration. On the wastewater side, staff said the town’s 1985 sand filter cannot meet the state’s new phosphorus permit limits and estimated a replacement at about $4.4 million. “It is beyond its expected life and needs to be replaced,” Larry told the board.

Board members pressed staff on staging and financing. Several members asked for a clearer 10-year timeline showing when projects, debt service and potential grants line up so the town can avoid multiple simultaneous large expenditures. Select Board member Nancy White said the public needs more clarity on timing and fiscal exposure; board member Tim suggested producing a year-by-year scenario that assumes conservative funding and then testing grant or subsidy options.

Engineer Jeff Lewis said the town is pursuing State Revolving Fund (SRF) support and expected a step-two SRF application for the sand-filter engineering soon; SRF support would subsidize engineering costs, Lewis said. Staff also confirmed they are preparing for a bond vote on the sand-filter replacement in November and are advancing final design and field survey work.

Questions from the public and board members covered sludge handling, PFOA testing, meter policy and rate impacts. Staff said sludge currently composes about 350 cubic yards per quarter of class A EQ biosolids; because of new PFOA sampling rules, they are working with contractor RMI to test and develop dilution or processing options before reuse or transfer off-site. On PFAS monitoring, staff emphasized that drinking water samples were non-detect for PFOA at the treatment facility, while wastewater streams may contain small amounts.

On rates, staff presented comparisons with peer Vermont towns and explained the difference between budget changes and customer rate changes. The proposed budgets showed a 6.4% increase in the water fund and 6.5% in the sewer fund; staff projected combined rate impacts of roughly a 4.9% increase for customers next year, driven by inflation, changes in usage and revenue assumptions. Staff said commercial metered usage increases (an extra ~15 million gallons in sewer metered usage in the current forecasts) help offset some of the rate pressure on unmetered residential customers.

After discussion and public comment, the board voted to approve the FY27 water and sewer budgets. The motion carried unanimously; the board agreed to set final rates at its next meeting, targeted for June 8. Chair Haley noted that the bond question for the sand-filter replacement will be prepared for a November vote.