JAY — All 807 town sewer system users will see their bills increase by $25 a year beginning July 1.

Selectpersons voted 3-2 Monday to increase the minimum base fee from $250 to $275 for up to 3,200 cubic feet of water use. For any amount that exceeds the minimum use the current rate of 8 cents per cubic foot will remain the same.

The move is estimated to bring in about $428,000 and cover about 79 percent of the Sewer Department’s operation and maintenance budget of $541,020 for 2016-17. 

The remainder of the budget, including an additional $286,652 in debt service, will be paid through general taxation.

The board has been moving toward trying to have sewer users pay 100 percent of the operation and maintenance budget.

During the current year, sewer users paid about 76 percent of the operation and maintenance budget.

The town changed from charging a per unit fee in 2011-12 to charging based on water usage.

Monday’s decision followed a lengthy discussion at a public hearing and two failed votes.

Opposing the motion to set the rate that was approved were Selectpersons Judy Diaz and Tom Goding. Favoring the vote were Selectpersons Keith Cornelio, newly elected Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo, and newly elected Chairman Terry Bergeron.

A vote to increase the minimum base fee to $275 and 10 cents per cubic foot over the 3,200 cubic foot minimum failed 2-3. Voting in favor were Goding and Cornelio and opposed were Diaz, DeMillo and Bergeron.

A second effort to increase the minimum base to $300 and 9 cents per cubic foot for the amount of usage exceeding the minimum also failed 2-3. Goding and Diaz approved the motion while DeMillo, Cornelio and Bergeron rejected it.

In order to cover 100 percent of the operation and maintenance budget the rate would have to have been set $250 for the minimum use fee and 13 cents per cubic foot for any amount that exceeded it.

Another option would have been to increase the minimum base to $275 and the amount exceeding it to 12.3 cents per cubic foot.

Prior to the new method, the minimum bill would have been $315 in 2010-11, said Mark Holt, superintendent of the Sewer Department.

A Sewer Committee that came up with the new method included people on public sewer and private systems. The panel settled on gradually increasing the rate to cover the operation and maintenance budget.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net