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Peterborough forms rate task force after models show steep water increase
Summary
After modeling showed water costs could rise 60%–65% because most system costs are fixed, the Peterborough Select Board created a Water and Sewer Rate Task Force to design a fairer rate structure; the move follows concerns from residents and businesses about who will bear higher bills.
The Peterborough Select Board voted May 19 to form a Water and Sewer Rate Task Force after consultant David Odland told the board that the town’s new Cold Spring bond payment makes water service more expensive than sewer and could require a roughly 60%–65% rate increase.
Odland said he ran 12 separate modeling scenarios and found that 80% to 90% of the system’s costs are fixed infrastructure expenses, which limits how much revenue can be shifted through usage charges. "With the bond payment, water has become the more expensive system," Odland told the board.
The Task Force will include staff and resident volunteers and is charged with refining a rate structure to meet budget targets while addressing equity concerns. Select Board member Bonnie Tucker, named the Board liaison to the Task Force, urged a model that preserves a 750-cubic-foot consumption allowance to protect low users while asking higher-volume users to shoulder a larger share of fixed costs.
Resident Deborah Camara told the board she felt conservation efforts were being penalized under current structures. "I use low-flush toilets and collect rainwater, and it feels like I am being punished by a high base rate," she said.
Board members noted the town faces costly, deferred infrastructure work. Chair Tyler Ward and member Bill Kennedy described aging distribution pipes — noting they are "Civil War era pipes" — as a practical reason much of the system’s cost is fixed regardless of household usage.
Given the competing priorities, the board agreed the Task Force should produce a refined proposal before the next billing cycle if feasible; Ms. Tucker said the town’s tax office workload might push implementation into the following quarter. The Board did not adopt a final rate structure at the meeting.
Next steps: the Task Force will meet with staff and the consultant to model alternatives, then report back to the Select Board with recommendations and estimated impacts for low-, middle- and high-volume customers.
