Lynn Water and Sewer staff propose 4% rate increase to support $200 million CSO work and $74 million plant upgrades

Sam Vitali, the commission’s general counsel, opened a public hearing of the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission and said the meeting had been noticed and posted in accordance with legal requirements.

Jim Asso, the commission’s executive director, read a prepared statement outlining the proposed fiscal plan. "Tonight's budget is a result of review from an input from all the departments of the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission," he said, and put the total proposed budget at $39,974,156. Of that amount, he said $28,162,821 is allocated to operations and about $11.34 million to debt and reserves.

Asso told the commission that the agency is operating under a "third modified consent decree" and that preliminary projected construction costs tied to ongoing consent-decree work—driven in part by the need for a pump station to address tidal surges and changing rainfall patterns—are about $200 million. He also cited a new wastewater treatment facility contract that includes roughly $74 million in capital improvements. "With the current manpower and its associated expenditures, the commission will continue to provide high-quality award-winning water and sewer and wastewater services to the residents of Lynn," Asso said.

Because of those mandated projects and rising debt-service needs, Asso said a rate increase is necessary. "This year, a 4% rate increase is necessary," he said, and described the rate action as part of a multi-year approach to build reserves and meet long-term obligations tied to the combined sewer overflow (CSO) program and treatment-plant work.

Ryan Boswell, the commission’s treasurer, presented revenues and forecasts that staff say support the request. Boswell said revenue from user charges is projected at approximately $40,144,534 for fiscal 2026 and described past end-of-year transfers (about $3 million in FY2023 and $4 million in each of FY2024 and FY2025) used to bolster working capital. He said the commission projects that operating expenses for fiscal 2027—before accounting for additional debt service—would rise roughly 12.09% and that debt-service increases tied to the West Lynn CSO project and plant capital work will further pressure future budgets.

Boswell said a rate-and-fee schedule would be presented at the commission’s June 15 meeting and gave the example that the commission’s "first block" rate would increase from $13.92 to $14.48, a 4% rise.

During the public-comment portion of the hearing, Francis Harrington, a resident of Lynn who identified his address for the record, urged commissioners to revise the proposed rate structure to create stronger conservation incentives and to correct what he described as inequities for multiunit residential buildings that use a single meter. "Right now... the tiers are very flat and it doesn't contribute to any kind of incentive to save water," Harrington said. He recommended setting tier thresholds based on the number of residential units served by a single meter so multiunit buildings would switch tiers at higher consumption thresholds and avoid paying a proportionally higher rate than single-family households.

Commission staff noted that the commission has used bond refunding and other steps to mitigate inflationary pressure but warned that mandatory projects and debt-service obligations will continue to affect rates. Asso and Boswell cited investments by the Mass Clean Water Trust and past bond actions that helped keep rates lower in prior years, and Boswell said staff will continue to pursue refinancing opportunities where feasible.

No formal vote or motion was taken at the hearing. The commission’s next meeting was announced for June 15 at the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission headquarters at 400 Parkland Avenue, where commissioners are scheduled to deliberate on the budget and the proposed rate and fee schedule.