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Litchfield WPCA advances $1.249 million FY27 budget, moves to tighten collection enforcement
Summary
The Litchfield Water Pollution Control Authority advanced a $1,249,000 FY27 budget and agreed to pursue stronger collection enforcement, including scheduling a public hearing on a State Marshal enforcement ordinance and pursuing permit‑denial options for chronic nonpayers.
The Litchfield Water Pollution Control Authority on March 12 reviewed a proposed $1,249,000 operating budget for fiscal 2027 and agreed to pursue firmer collection enforcement measures to reduce reliance on delinquent payments.
Superintendent Terrence Donoghue presented the draft budget, saying the total proposed FY27 figure is $1,249,000, a 2.2% decrease from FY26’s $1,277,000 driven largely by staff vacancies. Donoghue said administrative costs are up about $430 from FY26, electrical costs were increased after the planned solar array did not come online on schedule, and the capital non‑recurring line fell from $223,000 to $155,000 as earlier debt service declines took effect.
Donoghue reported anticipated FY27 revenue of $1,215,700 and that $1,050,000 had been collected through the end of February (about 80% of the annual budget). He said roughly $174,000 in current‑year charges remained outstanding and $51,000 from FY25 was still unpaid; Marissa had issued 86 lien notices on prior‑year balances.
John Bongiorno, the board’s liaison to the Board of Selectmen, urged the WPCA to avoid relying on delinquent collections when building the budget and proposed denying town permits (building, fire, and similar permits) to property owners with outstanding WPCA balances. The board reviewed enforcement options allowed by state statute and discussed an existing ordinance authorizing use of a State Marshal for collections; Levesque and others agreed to schedule a public hearing to consider marshal enforcement and bundle it with other ordinance changes in the June hearing cycle.
Levesque requested that the FY27 budget be restructured as a zero‑sum document (revenues equal expenses) for the May/June adoption cycle and include a separate actual‑versus‑budget comparison tab for monthly tracking; Donoghue said he would revise and recirculate the spreadsheet and incorporate monthly actuals for year‑over‑year comparison.
Next steps: Donoghue will update the budget workbook, and the WPCA will place the State Marshal ordinance on the June public hearing calendar along with other pending ordinance changes. No formal budget vote was taken at the March 12 meeting.
