NORTHAMPTON — The City Council is set to vote to raise the city’s water and sewer rates at its meeting on Thursday.
The council already unanimously voted to raise the rates at its March 7 meeting, but it will need to approve the changes on a second and final vote for them to pass.
Water rates are charged per 100 cubic foot (CCF) used per quarter.
For consumers with meters of 1-inch or smaller, rates are set to increase by 11 cents, from $4.40 to $4.51 for using 16 CCF or less. They are set to increase by 15 cents, from $5.94 to $6.09, for consumers who use more than 16 CCF.
For customers with meters larger than 1 inch, rates are set to increase by 15 cents from $5.84 to $5.99.
Non-metered and metered sewer customers will see bills increase by 19 cents, from $7.67 to $7.86.
At the March 7 meeting, Department of Public Works Director Donna LaScaleia explained that the rate increases will help fund both the operation of and upgrading of the city’s water and sewer infrastructure.
LaScaleia said the increase for the average water and sewer customer in Northampton will work out to be $6.60 on the water side and $7.20 on the sewer side, for a total yearly impact of $13.80.
On Monday, Mayor David Narkewicz also noted the major water and sewer projects the city is working on and said that the rate increase is a modest one.
“They’re not a major spike in the rates,” said Narkewicz.
Narkewicz said the council’s unanimous approval of the rate increases earlier this month was reflective of the effects of the analysis of the water and sewer system that was done earlier in his administration, which resulted in a tiered rate system, and the council’s close oversight of the process.
Ward 6 City Councilor Marianne LaBarge said that she considered the rate increases to be “affordable.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.