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Council leans toward pilot-plus-debt plan for stormwater and wastewater rates amid SB1 concerns
Summary
In a lengthy work session, town staff reviewed three rate-and-debt options, and after council debate the presenter said staff had "direction on option 3" — a wrapped-debt plan plus a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) to transfer utility revenues to the general fund to offset projected losses tied to Senate Bill 1.
During the Sept. 2 work session staff presented three options for financing roughly $20 million in utility capital needs split between stormwater and wastewater. Option 2 spread rate increases over multiple years; Option 3 combined wrapped debt service with a PILOT charge and was presented as the staff recommendation.
Staff provided sample bill impacts and revenue projections: for example, staff said a pilot could generate roughly $700,000 in year one, $800,000 in year two, $1.1 million in year three and $1.3 million in year four. Councilors questioned how increases would be displayed on bills and staff explained residential customers are billed one ERU for stormwater ($7.39 baseline) and that increases would be split between stormwater and wastewater components.
The discussion repeatedly referenced Senate Bill 1 and its projected impact on town revenues: staff said the town faces an estimated general-fund shortfall of about $3,000,000 in 2028 if SB1 takes effect as expected. Councilors weighed whether to adopt the higher Option 3 now to build a cushion or to adopt a smaller, two-year increase (Option 2) and revisit later. After debate the presenter said they had "direction on option 3" and will coordinate with bond counsel and financial advisors to firm up a schedule and ordinance language for future meetings.
