Pittsburg considers phased water and sewer rate increases after meter failure and budget shortfall

Presenter told the board a contracted technician reprogrammed a leaking water meter that had been reading once every 10 gallons; the vendor will not warranty the 2012 meter body or supply parts. Presenter recommended buying a complete 4‑inch meter and noted a quoted chamber price of about $3,450, proposing the equipment line be increased by $4,000 to cover the replacement.

The conversation moved to rate-setting. Presenter reported the town has about 135 billing units across residential and institutional accounts; dividing an approximate $100,000 system budget across those units produced a rough per‑unit annual cost used to frame rate proposals. Chair proposed spreading an increase across two billing cycles (smaller increment on two bills) to reduce the immediate impact on households.

Board members debated the pace and size of increases. Some argued for a larger single-step increase to catch up to operating costs; others favored phased, predictable increases. Members discussed separate letters to businesses and restaurants that may be charged multiple units and asked staff to verify unit counts for properties with unusually high usage. The board observed that state law will change some inspection frequencies for tanks (from six to five years), and that lagoon licensing is not due until 2031.

The working plan discussed in the meeting: increase each fee by $200 annually split as $100 per billing cycle (i.e., phased steps), with next-billing targets cited in discussion at roughly $250 for water and $300 for sewer (staff to finalize). Staff will prepare and mail notification letters to customers, analyze business-specific meter data, and report updated numbers before the next public hearing on the FY26 budget.

Quotes and specific numbers discussed in the meeting were approximate and framed as proposals; members asked staff to finalize figures and send out formal notices before implementing changes.