NORTHAMPTON — After Thursday’s City Council meeting left councilors urging more discussion between the mayor and business community, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz has scheduled an informational meeting about his proposed water and sewer rates for Wednesday evening.
The meeting, scheduled in coordination with the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, will be held at 5 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall and is open to the public.
The fees proposed by Narkewicz, initially presented to the council by consultants in January, passed 8-1 in first reading three weeks ago. But on Thursday, several business owners voiced hefty opposition to the new rates, prompting Ward 6 Councilor Marianne LaBarge and several of her colleagues to ask the mayor if he could take more time to discuss the issue with community members. The council accepted amendments made by the mayor lowering volumetric rates from his initial proposal, but postponed its second vote until the next meeting, April 21.
The proposed plan distinguishes between smaller and larger users, encouraging conservation by charging a higher rate for use above a certain level. Another big difference is it raises fixed fees — they would increase from $1 to $12.64 a quarter for the smallest users, for instance, though there are breaks for users who receive certain tax exemptions. The new structure also introduces fire protection fees for users with separate water lines above a certain size for sprinkler systems.
Under the mayor’s recent revisions, users with smaller meters — who comprise 95 percent of the customer base — would see a rate of $4.36 per 100 cubic feet for the first 1,600 cubic feet, and $5.82 per 100 cubic feet for use above that. Users with meters larger than 1 inch would pay $5.72 per 100 cubic feet.
Sewer rates for all users would be set at $7.52 per 100 cubic feet, though those without separate sewer meters would be charged based on 80 percent of their water consumption.
Under the current rate structure, a plan the mayor froze last year following public outcry, all users are charged $5.58 per 100 cubic feet for water, along with relatively small fixed quarterly fees, and $6.08 per 100 cubic feet for sewer.
The city has launched an online calculator to help users see how the changes could affect their bills, available here: http://www.northamptonma.gov/1667/Water-Sewer-Bill-Calculator
Stephanie McFeeters can be reached at smcfeeters@gazettenet.com.