$79 Rise For Average Framingham Water, Sewer Ratepayer Coming

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The chance for Framingham residents to give their opinion on coming water and sewer increases came and went Monday night with little pushback from the public.

Mayor Yvonne Spicer hosted Monday's water and sewer rate hearing to talk about why the city will hike rates 9.7 percent starting July 1, which is when the new fiscal year begins. It's the largest rate increase since 2014, when rates jumped 17 percent.

The 2022 rate increase will mean bills will rise $79 over the fiscal year for the average single-family user. But others types of properties will see much bigger increases based on consumption. Restaurants use between 1,000 and 5,000 units per year, and that means an increase of between $2,331 to $14,160 in 2022.

It was unclear how many people attended Monday's meeting, but only five people spoke during the public comment portion of the hearing. Resident Hope Casey asked why the rates are going to rise so much this year when they've been low in recent years — and even zero in fiscal year 2021 due to the coronavirus.

Framingham Chief Financial Officer Mary Ellen Kelley said the rate increase is due mostly to debt service and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority assessment. But Framingham has also been using leftover income to offset rate hikes in recent years. In fiscal 2018, for example, the city used $3.4 million in retained earnings to keep the increase at 2 percent.

That strategy left the water and sewer utilities vulnerable when the pandemic hit and water and sewer consumption dropped. Framingham revealed a $2.5 million deficit in the water and sewer utilities in December, which touched off months of negotiations over a fix.

Water and sewer rate increases are typical across many communities, but are usually not as high as 9.7 percent. Marlborough's rates will increase about 3.5 percent in 2022. In Worcester, water rates will stay flat, but sewer rates will rise about 2.6 percent.

The combined water and sewer budgets in fiscal 2022 is $57.2 million, which is about $5.3 million higher than fiscal 2021.

Residents who missed Monday's hearing can still email comments to Spicer at mayor@framinghamma.gov.