Village of Oakfield residents should brace for a couple of increases in their quarterly water bills.
The first increase will be 65 cents per thousand gallons of water. That 19.4-percent increase will take the rate from $3.35 to $4.
The increase, according to Mayor Rick Pastecki, is designed to eliminate a deficit in water spending for the village.
"Basically, we found out that our rates were so low that state officials were concerned we wouldn't be able to pay back our debt," Pastecki said. "Basically, we found through the process that our rates were considered extremely reasonable, which precluded any kind of grant money."
The village needs a low-interest loan -- which has been awarded, and a grant, also awarded -- for a new water tower and transmission line.
The current water tower is well beyond its useful life and the village has been able to secure a 2.5-percent loan and a $600,000 grant, but those funds will only cover a portion of the cost of the $3.4 million project.
And that cost -- though expected to be high -- hasn't been determined yet.
To pay for the tower, another water-rate increase will be necessary, according to Pastecki, but more calculations need to be done before he can estimate the potential second rate increase.
Information for this report courtesy of Geoff Redick of WBTA.
