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Council approves annual COLA for water and sewer; staff warns of PFAS, lead-line work and rising costs
Summary
Town staff presented the annual cost-of-living adjustment for water and sewer rates and budget comparisons; council approved the COLA. Staff highlighted regulatory pressures (PFAS sampling, lead-service-line identification), equipment replacements and other cost drivers and said the proposed adjustment would yield modest additional annual revenue.
Sean Pappz (presenter) reviewed the town's annual water and sewer COLA process and the proposed rate adjustments for 2027, noting that revenue remains insufficient to cover planned maintenance and improvements without periodic adjustments. He described rising costs tied to PFAS sampling and testing requirements, lead-service-line identification efforts, cyber security assessments, and potential expanded testing obligations for sewer facilities. "The tax is 2¢, so a total of a dollar 22 per month, if you're using 4,000 gallons," he said while summarizing bill impacts for a typical user.
Pappz and staff also discussed capital needs including replacement of tertiary filters (noted at about $90,000 per replacement), SCADA modernization, emergency generator work and investigation of new plants and booster stations. The proposed '27 water budget of $6,539,550 and the sewer budget (approx. $7.551 million for '27) were presented as draft figures subject to final budget processes. Council approved the annual COLA rates by voice vote and directed staff to continue presentations through the budget process.
Provenance: topic anchored to the utilities presentation and budget slides in the packet.
