New Paltz water rates may need to be raised by 20 percent to cover costs, mayor Tim Rogers said at the December 9 village board meeting. A considerable amount of revenue has been lost this year, because college students aren’t flushing, showering and laundering as much as they usually do. The village has been depending on f that extra flushing to pay off the debt for a new filtration system.
Rogers previously suggested a temporary ten percent rate hike for the three highest user, but that won’t fill the revenue gap. Village treasurer Nancy Branco has suggested that a 20 percent hike for all users may be needed to keep the water system solvent. Water money is kept separate from general funds, meaning that everything including paying off debt must come from the water bills.
The proposed rate change would be effective as of March 1, and may only be temporary. Town residents living outside the village would also be impacted, as water in that system is purchased from the village. The last rate increase for water was in 2012.
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