Fishkill board approves water‑billing change to charge multifamily units per apartment

The Village of Fishkill Board of Trustees voted July 20 to change its water billing schedule so the minimum charge will be applied to each unit in multifamily dwellings and mobile home parks rather than to a single building account. Mayor Kathy Martin moved the change and the board approved it by voice vote.

Village attorney Ian McDonald told trustees the village code already provides for a minimum charge based on “users,” and he said that under a reasonable reading multifamily units qualify as multiple users. “My recommendation, though, would be to amend the code to make it clear that that is the case,” McDonald said, while adding that the board could implement a per‑unit minimum now by motion or resolution.

Trustees and staff discussed how the change would be handled operationally. Board members asked whether meters must be upgraded and whether the landlord or property owner would remain the primary account holder. Staff explained that meters do not need physical replacement in many cases and that, where a single meter serves a building, the minimum charge and the billing calculation can be adjusted administratively so the minimum would be multiplied by the number of units (for example, a 16‑unit building would be assessed 16 times the minimum unit charge).

The board did not specify a new dollar amount for the unit minimum during the meeting; staff and the attorney advised that the code amendment would be a separate step to clarify implementation and to make the policy durable. Trustees indicated the change was intended to address perceived inequity when large apartment complexes effectively pay a single minimum while single‑family homes pay the minimum per household.

The vote to apply minimum charges per unit passed by voice vote. The board directed staff to implement the administrative changes necessary to begin billing multifamily properties by unit and recommended preparing a code amendment for a future meeting to make the practice explicit.

What happens next: staff will update billing schedules and procedures; the board recommended a follow‑up code amendment be drafted for formal adoption at a later meeting.