My Water/Sewer Usage

My Water/Sewer Usage: A Tale of Truth

I am not sure why some people in Longmeadow are all that upset about their water bills. If you use a lot of water, then you should pay more than those who use less.

If you own a swimming pool and you irrigate your lawn, you use a lot of water and you should, if you are reasonable, expect to be charged more for it than those who use less.

As a public service, here is my water usage and water costs for the last five (5) years. As a few words of explanation: I am a single occupant of my house; I do not water my lawn; I do not own a swimming pool; I hand water my tomato plants.

Year: Spring:HCF Fall:HCF Total:HCF Cost:

2003 20 22 42 $125.46

2004 22 23 45 $131.85

2005 19 25 44 $128.92

2006 18 52 70 $205.10

2007 14 32 56 $148.95


Average: 18.6 Average: 30.8 Average: 51.4 $148.06



2007 Old Rate = 1.33 per HCF Water 14 = $18.62 ($20.00 is minimum.)
Old Rate = 1.60 per HCF Sewer 14 = $22.40 $42.40 paid

2007 New Rate = 1.50 per 1st 25 HCF Water 32 = 49.75
New Rate = 1.75 per next level 7 HCF
New Rate = 1.40 per 1st 25 HCF Sewer 32 = 46.20
New Rate = 1.60 per next level 7HCF
Add Sewer /Water Meter = 10.60

TOTAL = $106.55

If we reduce the amount that the large users pay, per HCF, we will have to increase the amount the small users pay, per HCF, since we have to come up with the requisite money to pay Springfield for the water we buy from them. It is a question of fairness. We have to pay Springfield a fixed amount, so shouldn’t the largest users pay the largest amount? And not at the same rate, but at a graduated rate? A flat tax rate is unfair and a flat water rate is unfair.

Determine Your Water/Sewer Rebate

With all of the Select Board changes in water/ sewer rates for the 1st bill FY08 (July-Dec 2007) most of us are at least a little confused or unsure as to how much relief we will be receiving in the mail in the form of "abatement" or rebate checks.

I have prepared a chart using the best available information to help individuals. Remember this is an unofficial calculation and not approved numbers from SelectBoard office or Longmeadow Finance Dept. As was highlighted in my last posting, water rebates are already approved while the proposed sewer rebates must be approved at the March 4 Special Town Meeting. The chart below assumes that the sewer rebate will be approved by the STM.












The above chart shows that if you used 300 HCF for this last billing cycle and received a bill for $1173, you will receive an abatement check of $472 reducing your July-Dec 2007 water/sewer bill to $701 - a 40.2% reduction.

Results from this analysis shows that low volume users (up to 100 HCF) will not receive a rebate check while high volume water users (> 250 HCF) will receive rebates of 31-52%.

Below is a chart that compares FY07 charges vs. FY08 (adjusted) charges.












It is interesting to note that low volume users (less than 100 HCF) had ~ 15% increase from FY07 to FY08 while high volume users (>250 HCF) had smaller increases (2-11%). Mid-range water users (150-200 HCF) actually had a slight decrease in water/ sewer bills.

If interested there is a copy of the full spreadsheet used for this analysis posted on LongmeadowBiz.com.

Don't forget to vote in our poll about water rebates (--> top right hand corner)!

Topic #1- Water/ Sewer Rates

It looks like the Springfield Republican has selected our first topic- water/ sewer rebates.

When town residents opened their recent water/ sewer bills, many were shocked to see a very large increase even though their water consumption may not have changed. To be fair to the Select Board, the higher water rates were well advertised in advance both in the Springfield Republican and on the town websites (http://www.longmeadow.org/ + http://www.longmeadowbiz.com/). Many of us like the appearance of green lawns and healthy shrubs so we use water on a regular basis to irrigate our landscapes. With a little homework all of us probably could have calculated the new charges before we opened our water/sewer bills.

One afterthought.... timing of the increase and subsequent billing might have been planned differently. The recent Proposition 2½ override might have been voted down if the water/sewer bills in some precincts have been delivered only a few days earlier. In some cases the increase in water/sewer fee was double (or greater) the increase in RE property taxes that resulted from the Proposition 2½ override passage.

Now to the current issue at hand... rebates for water/sewer.

Upon much pressure from constitutents and others, the Select Board voted to rebate sewer charges for residential users only above 110 HCF for the July-Dec 2007 period only because such high water usage likely was caused by lawn irrigation or pool water usage. Such additional water consumption does not result in higher sewer usage.

There is now a Special Town Meeting scheduled for March 4 to rebate sewer fees.... voter approval is necessary for checks to be issued.

ARTICLE 1.
To see if the Town will appropriate an amount not to exceed $356,591.00 from the Sewer Retained Earnings Account in order to provide refunds for sewer bills issued between July 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007, or take any action relative thereto.

In addition, the Select Board decided at their February 14 special meeting to rebate water fees as well (for high volume users in the July- December 2007 period) by reducing the charges to a flat rate schedule. Residential and commercial water use charges for July 1, through December 31, 2007 will be abated so that any use above 26 units is billed at a rate of $1.75/per unit.

According to Robin Crosbie, Town Manager, there is no voter approval required for these water refunds.

Take the time to cast your vote on this subject in our poll (see top right section of this page).

To vote you may have to create a Google account. Not a big deal... takes 1-2 minutes. Once you have signed up you will also be able to post comments on this topic.