A screen shot of the Derby WPCA budget.
DERBY — The Derby Water Pollution Control on Wednesday adopted a budget that keeps sewer rates as is.
Residential properties connected to the sewer system pay a per unit fee of $275, plus a consumption rate of 80 cents per gallon/per day/per year.
“They are exactly the same as they were a year ago,” said Jack Walsh, the WPCA chairman.
In addition to the annual WPCA bill, single-family residential homeowners pay an annual $257 capital fee. That goes toward a 2014 referendum in which voters authorized up to $31.2 million for a number of upgrades and repairs to the sewer system.
It’s the second year in a row the WPCA has adopted a budget without raising the rates.
The WPCA’s expense budget totals $4,488,381, an increase in expenses of .46 percent from the current budget. The WPCA budget surplus sits at $8,723.
“I believe we’ve only had one increase in 10 years,” Walsh said. “I believe we have done a very good job of holding things together under very difficult circumstances, and I want to thank the staff for that.”
While pump stations and piping have been upgraded and replaced thanks to the $31.2 million referendum Derby voters approved in 2014, the WPCA main facility off Caroline Street needs millions in work. The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments is currently in the middle of a massive study to see if a regional solution can bring down WPCA costs for towns and cities throughout the Naugatuck Valley. Walsh said an update on the study is slated for June.
At the same time, the City of Derby is exploring whether it makes financial sense to privatize WPCA operations in some manner. The city just put a request for qualifications (essentially a request for resumes) on its website.
