Southwick Water Board Keeps Elderly Rate Flat Despite $26,000 Revenue Gap

SOUTHWICK — March 19, 2026 — Southwick Water Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to preserve the town's flat elderly water rate, rejecting a staff proposal to charge seniors at standard tiered rates once usage exceeds 15,000 gallons per billing cycle. Director of Water and Sewer Rich Wells told the three-member board — Chairman Ed Johnson and Commissioners Dave Mesmore and John Kane — that the current flat-rate structure has produced an estimated $26,000 revenue gap across two billing cycles, a figure he warned will continue to grow as Springfield wholesale water costs rise. Johnson held firm, saying "the idea of the elderly rate is to keep it at a flat level — that's the break you're getting," and Mesmore added that seniors are already absorbing rising costs across other town services. The board directed Wells to compile the department's complete fee schedule for review at the next meeting, with backflow inspection fees — currently $75 per test against a contractor cost of roughly $175 — identified as one area where charges may not cover full departmental costs. The FY27 budget is otherwise level-funded except for the Springfield purchase line, raised from $80,000 to $90,000 to reflect an 8 percent rate increase.