Brandon board adopts wastewater expense budget, delays vote on steep rate increases

The Brandon Select Board on June 24 adopted the wastewater enterprise expense budget for fiscal year 2027 and asked town staff to return with options for how to balance revenue, delaying a vote on proposed rate increases that officials said would sharply raise household wastewater bills.

Town Manager Seth Hopkins told the board the wastewater plant now processes about 134 million gallons a year while the town bills users for about 32 million gallons, a gap he attributed largely to groundwater and river water infiltrating the sanitary system. "We bill 32 million gallons of wastewater to the users connected to the sewer. The wastewater department at the wastewater plant processed 134 million gallons," Hopkins said, explaining that infiltration greatly increases treatment costs.

Hopkins presented seven-year trend charts showing expenses rising from under $700,000 to about $1.4 million — a 107% increase — while revenue rose roughly 48% over the same span. He said the town completed a voter-approved $6 million upgrade to the plant and now has debt service to repay. "It's a very expensive operation. It's approximately the cost of our police and our highway put together," Hopkins said.

To bring the budget into balance, Hopkins proposed a range of revenue changes: raise the metered rate from $8.50 to $10 per 1,000 gallons (about an 11% increase), increase the quarterly base/unit fee from $120 to $140, and add a new debt-service line of $55 per unit per quarter. Hopkins noted the average wastewater user currently pays about $699 per year; under the presented proposal that average would rise to about $1,038.

Board members expressed concern about equity and the burden on lower-income households. Several members said they preferred exploring alternatives to raising the base fee too sharply — suggesting a modest increase to the metered (consumption) rate or considering capacity-based billing for certain users. Funding partners the town has worked with, Hopkins said, have recommended a stable revenue base to avoid volatility in times like the COVID period, when consumption patterns changed.

After discussion the board voted to hold a decision on revenue structure and rates until the next meeting and asked Hopkins to provide two or three concrete revenue scenarios (for example, keeping the base fee at $120 and increasing the metered rate accordingly). The board then voted to adopt the wastewater expense budget as presented.

Hopkins said fixing infiltration would improve operating costs but would not remove the long-term debt-service burden created by the plant upgrade; expanding the customer base (more sewer-connected units) is a longer-term way to reduce per-user rates. He agreed to return with revenue options for the board to consider before a final vote on rates.

The board's expense-budget adoption was approved by voice vote. The board did not adopt the proposed rate changes at this meeting and left those revenue decisions for a future session.