Water fees in Westminster could grow next year to pay for construction projects and rising operating costs such as fuel, utilities, private contractors, salaries and health care.
“The buildup of years of operating costs simply requires more revenue,” said Mayor Thomas Ferguson.
This proposed hike was the first since 2000.
The preliminary 2007 budget, presented Monday to the City Council by Joseph D. Urban, Westminster?s director of finance, increased the minimum quarterly rate from $18.60 to $22.32, or 20 percent.
“We are taking on roughly $9 million in borrowing over two years, and we are going to have to begin making payments on the loans,” Ferguson said.
The water rate increase will help cover the interest and principal on these loans for construction projects like the Medford Quarry pipeline and Westminster?s new water treatment plant, he said.
In times of drought, the pipeline will be used to carry water to Westminster?s water treatment facilities. During the 2002 drought, the city used the less-efficient approach of having trucks transport the water to the facilities.
The new plant will reduce the strain of carrying out costly makeshift improvements to the current water treatment plant.
Other costs include designing and building a water main under Route 27 to replace the current older one, which must have its cracks sealed when they occur during extreme cold.
