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Collins board approves Village of Gowanda to operate town water systems; board says rates unaffected
Summary
In May the Town Board approved an intermunicipal agreement with the Village of Gowanda to operate and maintain Collins' water districts; the supervisor said non-service and administrative functions remain with the town and that customer rates will not change as a result.
The Town Board of Collins voted in mid-May to approve an intermunicipal agreement authorizing the Village of Gowanda Department of Public Works to provide operations and maintenance for the town—s water districts.
On May 13 the Board adopted the agreement after reviewing Erie County Health Department input and projected first-year savings for the town. Supervisor David Tessmer briefed residents at the May 18 meeting, stating that "Contrary to some circulating rumors — This will not affect water rates."
Under the agreement, Gowanda DPW Superintendent Jason Opferbeck became the town—s Senior Water Operator for operational purposes; day-to-day field operations (meter-reading, leaks, UFPO stakeouts and pump/chemical maintenance) are handled by the Village crew. Administrative functions such as billing and rate-setting remained with the Town Clerk and the elected town board, per the minutes. The town also agreed to a number of immediate technical improvements the Village recommended to address meter access and reliability.
Why it matters: the shift centralizes field technical operations with a municipal DPW that has staff and equipment, and the town reported projected first-year savings of more than $40,000. The change also exposed systemic issues in Collins—s meter fleet: subsequent board meetings documented many meters that could not be read and a Village recommendation for a multi-year meter replacement/AMI program to restore reliable billing and leak detection.
What to watch: the board asked the Gowanda DPW to continue to provide regular water quality reporting and to develop a plan for meter replacement and remote reading; those costs and rollout timing were discussed in later meetings and remain an implementation item for 2016.
