The City of Somerville is working with consulting firm Raftelis in hopes of finding viable options for lowering water and sewer bills for lower-income residents.

By Parker Garlough

The Somerville City Council’s initial proposal for assisting residents with water bills is prohibited by an obscure Massachusetts state law, local government and utility management consulting firm Raftelis’ Vice President Dave Fox said at last Thursday’s City Council meeting. Raftelis recommended other solutions, and will continue to research their feasibility.

Somerville city officials have recently proposed water and sewer bill rate increases, due to factors including statewide increases by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority as well as system improvements. They asked Raftelis to research ways to reduce the financial burden residents would incur under this proposed plan.

Some residents have recently experienced unusually large increases in their water bills as the city seeks to make up for underpaid bills in prior years, when faulty water meters reported lower-than-accurate rates of water usage. Raftelis’ research was not focused on this issue – purely on the proposed upcoming rate changes.

The Somerville City Council had initially asked Reftelis to design a plan for implementing what Demetrios Vidalis, Somerville Director of Water and Sewer, referred to as a “standard rate assistance program.” Under this program, residents below a certain income level would pay for water at a discounted rate. In order to make up the missing revenue, rates for other residents would be increased slightly.

However, Massachusetts Department of Revenue rules do not permit this program. It is illegal to charge one group of customers more in order to charge another group of customers less.

Even if this law did not exist, Fox said, that type of program may not necessarily be viable, because it could result in only single-family home owners getting relief, and may not benefit tenants.

Instead, Raftelis suggests that the city should explore additional revenue sources in order to be able to lower rates for some residents.

One additional revenue source could be a fee for properties with water-intensive fire-suppression systems. This fee is very common in municipalities near Somerville. It would primarily affect commercial buildings such as hotels, who are more likely to have this type of system. It may also apply to some Somerville public housing buildings. Raftelis will conduct research to find out whether this is the case.

“As much of these fees as we can apply to commercial entities that may have more of a pool to draw from, I think would be in the best interest of our constituents,” At Large City Councilor Willie Burnley, Jr. said.

Another Raftelis suggestion was to implement stormwater fees based on the size of the land that would likely be affected. This would be beneficial to residents of tall, skinny buildings – including many multifamily homes in Somerville.

One structural change the city could make would be to alter its tiered system, which currently charges more per gallon to customers who use more water. Currently, that burden falls on hotels, businesses, and other commercial entities, as well as on apartments and public housing. By differentiating between property types, the city could ease pressure on non-commercial customers.

To help with sticker shock, and increase ease of financial planning, Raftelis suggested Somerville switch to monthly billing rather than quarterly. This would not decrease the amount of money owed.

On Wednesday, May 15, there will be a public hearing of the Equity, Gender, Seniors, Families and Vulnerable Populations committee to discuss residents’ experience with water and sewer bills. It will be held in person in the City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue, as well as on Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HjYlNim_RG62H21wtDiyCA.