BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – Village homeowners will see higher amounts in their quarterly water and sewer bills following the village board's approval of a 12 percent increase in both the sewer and water rates on Thursday night.

Mayor Michael Dalton pointed out the rate increase is necessary to begin funding the $13.5 million in wastewater treatment plant upgrade project costs. 

“We are projecting that these upgrades, sans any additional grant funding, will require a 30% increase in rates. In addition, planning is underway for approximately $20 million in water upgrades that will need to be done in the next few years. Currently the water fund is underfunded so we are proposing to raise water rates 12% now as well,” the mayor stated.

Village leaders addressed a 12 percent hike in the sewer rate at its May board meeting.

For most users (0-50,000 gallons users), this will be a combined increase of about $1.70 per 1000 gallons. The minimum charge for quarterly users is 5,000 gallons so the base water/sewer rate would increase by $8.56 or $2.85 per month, Dalton explained.

“The village water and sewer rates are below New York State averages and that is held against this municipality when looking for funding. Monthly averages for water are in the $52 range and sewer in the $89 range,” he said.

For users residing outside the village, the increases will be a dollar amount, not a percentage. 

“We have agreed that is a fair way to assess rates for outside users by increasing the same dollar amount as inside users,” stated Dalton.

“It’s a double-edged sword because we’re trying to do what’s best for the community,” stated the mayor at the board’s May meeting.

It was also noted Thursday night that the village’s Infrastructure Committee is exploring the idea of converting the billing system to an EDU model, a move that could help the village to better budget for needed upgrades and ongoing operational costs.

“We are currently researching how this would work, the impact to users, other communities’ experiences, etc. Given the urgency of the infrastructure projects, both those that we’ve begun and those for which we’re still in the planning phase, we believe we should increase rates so that increased costs can be gradually absorbed,” he said.