Friday, June 17, 2016

Water, wastewater rates up 9.3 percent

Residents will see their water and sewer bills go up 9.3 percent starting next month.

www.rutlandherald.com    

22 comments :

  1. once again,the hard working taxpayers are paying more because others aren't doing their share,maybe we should do away with all the car washes at riverside and the watering of all the flowers in town,we should also charge all the folks that aren't on town water and sewer,for water used at their places if there is a fire,they are getting free water,how much of this this budget is for new equipment,trucks,backhoe's etc ?

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    1. Yeah! While we are at it, let's charge all the folks in the Whitcomb Building and the Huber Building too! They don't pay taxes! Yeah! Good idea. (what. ever.)

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    2. the housing authority pays the water/sewer tax's for their building's,so check your facts

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  2. my question is,if were using less why are we paying more

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  3. George T. McNaughton6/17/16, 11:20 AM

    It does feel like a second tax for the residents of Springfield. The reason you are paying a higher rate because you are using more is that the water and sewer was built and designed for the situation where we had high industrial usage and a substantially greater population. As a result, you have less consumption to carry the fixed costs. There is also a problem with the fact that we have not been diligently collecting delinquent accounts which are now in excess of a quarter million dollars.

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    1. Well, I hate to sound like some fire breathing anti-government zealot, but shouldn't you be collecting from the delinquents before raising rates for everyone else? It seems that the lack of action by the town concerning folks that don't pay and don't care are the core of this towns problems. (If you say I should run for the Select Board, be careful; I may just take you up on that!)

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    2. George T McNaughton6/18/16, 12:01 AM

      Actually, I was the lone dissenting vote, and yes we need to have more people running for Selectboard next year as there will be two seats available, mine and the Chair's. Good luck in your campaign. I am not running for reelection to the Selectboard.

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    3. Touche.

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  4. chuck gregory6/17/16, 4:34 PM

    There is also the problem of aging pipes. Twice in the past six years or so we have had to dig up the intersection of Valley and Main to fix a leak problem. The first time, it was losing 7,000 gallons a day-- that might be the equivalent of twenty homes' consumption. And how do we pay to get leaky pipes fixed?

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    1. A can of Flex-Seal is less than $10.

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    2. Try 200 homes....assuming a combined average daily use of 35 gallons. WOW!

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  5. A declining population because of the high cost of living and people aren't paying their bills. So raise the price on honest hardworking people. Damn.

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    1. George T McNaughton6/19/16, 12:29 AM

      Yes, and it's going to get worse unless we can stop the downward spiral of the last 20 years. Regardless of whether you were for or against the Bio-Mass plant for other reasons, it would have been a tremendous help in stabilising the water rates, not to mention the Grandlist. We could actually use a high water using industry that North Sprinfield will accept right now.

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    2. GTM - If you can find one that isn't also a high-poluting industry, bring it on.

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  6. Well, it seems there is enough truth to what everyone is saying. As I have said before, the problems of Springfield are the problems of America. The solution? We (and I include myself in this) need to stop using everything that happens as a rationalization for our political views, and focus on fixing the problems. Everybody hates taxes, but try to repave a road or fix a sewer by yourself. Some people pay more than others. I once worked a job making $10.45 an hour, but since I worked 70 hours a week, and had no deductions, I was in the second highest tax bracket. Was I paying more than my share? I thought so, but it was also the most prosperous time in my life so I didn't complain too much. Most things in life are a matter of perspective. We can argue and fight, and accomplish nothing, or we can appreciate what we do have while working together to find mutually beneficial solutions that improve all of our lives.

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    1. Bottom line, well educated, ambitious young families looking to build equity, a future for themselves and access a community school system that would give their kids a shot at tier one colleges are a fool to choose Springfield. There are hundreds if not thousands of communities that offer improved cost of living and quality of life. Leaving Springfield was the best career choice I made.

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  7. I've been overwhelmed with my previous water bills.....I'm going to have to learn ways to cut corners I guess. Youtube has many videos that'll teach & show you how. shut water off when brushing, adjust toilet tank float, pee outside..etc.

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    1. Collect wash water from hands or dishes in a bucket, then use that to flush the toilet.

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  8. don't forget the old town dump that the epa makes us up keep and pay for

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  9. so if the town ever collect's the delinquent taxes(laughing to self,do all that are making up the difference get a refund (laughing again)so lets do this if people are not paying their taxes,shut their water of and put a lien on their house's,Springfield is like the state welfare system,if you can't pay,we'll make everybody else pay for ya,bunch of bull is what it is

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  10. Then why did Springfield barter for new "pipes" in trade for a Prison ? Have the prisoners do more flushing to increase the water usage there.

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    1. George T McNaughton6/22/16, 10:40 AM

      The new piping that was negotiated for wasn't necessarily for the prison, it was to open up new areas for public water access and to replace old piping. Springfield still has a lot 100 year old piping to replace, especially in the downtown and elsewhere. That is a result of constantly cutting the public works budget over the 20 years in order to try and reduce spending -- the deferral of maintenance is now catching up with us. The problem is our water using industry have all left, and our residential population has dwindled. On top of that we have a lot of water saving devices installed during home remodeling. We simply do not have the water consumption necessary to support the water utility fixed costs.

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