To offset looming deficit, water will cost more in Larchmont

Written by Mimi Koren

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:26

Shorter showers and limited lawn-sprinklings may lie in Larchmont’s future following a decision made by the Village Board at its July 26 meeting. Faced with a six-figure deficit in the Water Department, the board took the unprecedented step of raising water rates a whopping 35 percent. It was the first increase in three years; despite its size, it barely matches the growth in expenses.

To give residents a chance to adjust, the rates will not rise until the next half-yearly billing cycle, which runs from Oct. 31 to April 30. The board also approved a new administrative service fee, effective immediately.

The water that flows from village taps is provided by village government, which purchases it from New York City. Village Treasurer Denis Brucciani reported that water costs have climbed for the past three years, but water rates – the amount residents pay – have remained flat. The village is now paying nearly 65 percent more per average unit of water than it did three years ago, the last time rates were set, with 18 percent more in operating and administrative costs.

In addition, debt service on a loan to repair the Chatsworth Avenue water main has soared more than 400 percent in three years, pushing total Water Department expenses up by more than 40 percent. Without a rate increase, the Water Fund would run a deficit of more than $420,000, out of a total village budget of $15.5 million. “It is clear that the village needs to recalibrate the water rates,” Brucciani said.

Most of the board agreed, with Mayor Josh Mandell (D) pressing the hardest for an immediate increase. “We just got further and further behind the eight-ball,” he remarked. “The [reserve] fund balance is dangerously low.”

Ward urges tiered billing
But even a one-party legislature can harbor dissent (all board members are Democrats), and Trustee Richard Ward filled that role, as he often has. Under the current system, he charged, low-volume users subsidize high-volume users, and he wanted the board to correct that imbalance before approving the rate increase.

As Mandell explained, the village pays more for water use that exceeds a certain threshold, but the extra costs are not passed on to the heavier users because currently there is no convenient way to single them out. “We could move to a tiered billing system with new software, which could generate more revenue,” he said. But, he argued, “We cannot afford to wait on the increase, because of the potential deficit.” The board approved the increase, with Ward voting ‘no.’

The new rates are $3.95 per hundred cubic feet (ccf) in the off-peak season, October-March, and $4.65 ccf during the warmer months, when water consumption increases. These rates will not show up on customers’ bills until next spring; the billing delay reduces the size of the increase for the current fiscal year. The new service fee – “a common feature in other jurisdictions,” said the treasurer – will range from $55 to $401, depending on the size of the meter; for the majority of customers, it will amount to just under $66. It will appear on the fall bill.

Admitting that he was sorry to be presiding over the rate increase, Mandell said that in the future, “I pledge to…pass these costs through on a more timely basis.” Ward suggested reconsidering the rates every six months.

Good news, and bad
The numbers are adding up for the Fire Department (LFD), local business and bike riders, while benchwarmers have suffered a loss.

The Fire Department now has 30 volunteers, surpassing the number who quit in 2007. “It’s great to see these guys working together,” said the mayor, who is also the fire commissioner. “It’s…a very healthy department.”

While several businesses have closed, four new businesses have opened in Larchmont in recent weeks: Burn Fitness, Jones Furniture, Keystone Realty and Hiawatha Martial Arts. The mayor encouraged residents to patronize them.

Twelve new bike racks have been installed in each of the two business districts.

Unidentified vandals destroyed the two benches in front of Constitution Park. Anyone with any information about the perpetrators is asked to notify the police.

Coming events in Larchmont
Saturday, Oct. 2: Fine Arts Festival, 1-5 p.m.; Big Trucks Day, 10 a.m.-noon
Sunday, Oct. 10, at 12:30: Tour de Larchmont

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