Clymer board approves water rates, 2027 budget
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CLYMER -- Residents in the town of Clymer who are a part of the town's water system will be seeing some changes to their water bill beginning in January.
The Clymer Town Board recently approved new water rates to help accommodate the ongoing water system upgrade. The town also approved the 2027 budget, which will be seeing around a 5% tax increase. The water rate changes were reviewed by Matt Zarbo with Square Engineering last month during a public hearing. Changes include billing moving from semi-annual to quarterly, with a new capital debt to cover the expense of the new water system going in at $91 a quarter, and the estimated yearly bill for a 40,000 gallon user is expected to increase from around $420 to $700.
"Obviously an increase, but greatly reduced with the $5,000 grant we received, so not as bad as it could have been," Town Supervisor Brian Willink said.
It was noted that this increase puts the town in about the middle of the range of similar local towns that also recently upgraded their water systems. The village of Mayville's water rate is currently $720, increasing to $842. The village of Sherman sits at $618, but Willink said their project is a few years older than Clymer's, so their cost is a little less. Fluvanna's rate for the water district is $800, Chautauqua is around $1,000, Frewsburg is at $675, so Willink said Clymer sits right about in the middle of those.
"We can't really compare ourselves to the big cities because they have more people to offset the cost than we do," Willink said. "The big cost is the infrastructure. The water through the pipe is the cheap part."
Willink added that once the project is done the town should be set for another 50 years. He also thanked Zarbo and Municipal Solutions for their help in analyzing these rates. Additionally, Willink said they did have some people come to the public hearing and as far as he knew they got those questions answered. He also noted the town has had low water rates for a very long time, so they knew this increase was coming.
Town Clerk Wendy Trisket has received some negative feedback in regards to the rate increase, including one who came to her crying because they will not be able to afford next year's bill, and another who came in and did not yell but also had complaints. The town will ask Zarbo and look into potential county assistance programs to help people pay their water bills to be able to give people information if they come to Trisket with trouble paying the bill.
The upgrade was again noted to be a one in 50-year project, and one the town would have eventually been forced to do anyway if they had not begun this project. Willink said the project does not just include water to people's houses but also to fire hydrants and other aspects.
"There's a lot and it's a huge community asset," Willink said. "I feel pretty good about things. They're going to be a little shocked but we're going to do the best we can to get through it."
The presentation from last month's public hearing is available on the town's website, townofclymerny.gov, and the Town Clerk's Facebook page. Notice has been placed around town and the hearing was advertised around town, but some still may not have seen it and may be surprised. Willink added Zarbo also said towns will typically see large water rate increases following these projects but the rates become more competitive over time, and will decrease over time.
"We've had very affordable rates for a long time, and they're still, compared to some, affordable," Willink said.
The bill changes will take place in January and the first quarterly bill will come at the end of the first quarter of the year, around the beginning of April.