Anatomy and Physiology of a Templeton Water Bill
Below is an example of a Water Bill from TMLWP:
From December 2, 2015 to March 1, 2016 the Farrell household used 11,000 gallons of water. The amount net due is $144.43 for 11,000 gallons of water. This breaks down to $13.13 per 1,000 gallons - the highest rate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!
Let's break the charge of $144.43 down into its components:
Service charge of $59.29 per quarter.
Water charge of $85.14 THIS quarter - this number will fluctuate and depends on the amount of gallons used.
Let's look at the "Service charge". The $59.29 is for one quarter. There are FOUR quarters in one year. The total cost for the "water service charge" per year per customer is $237.16. There are 2200 water customers in serviced by TMLWP. The "Service Charge" alone generates $521,752 per year for the Water Department. Seems like a lot of money. Seems like enough money to pay for the water tank without going out for a 20 year or 40 year USDA loan!
But how would anyone know if $521,752 is enough money. There is no transparency! The voters at town meeting don't vote on the water budget. Voters have no way of knowing where the water department money goes.
How much time and water ratepayer money was spent by the managers of the Water Department to AVOID bringing this to a town meeting vote (like the budget)?
Where is the accountability?
Vote NO!
Vote No unless and until the management of the Water Department can explain and justify the expense of a new water tank.
Vote No unless and until the management of the Water department can explain and justify these outrageous "service charges"
Vote No on this issue at the Special Town Meeting on Monday, March 21, 2016 !
It seems to me that there are three different governments in town, one is town government that is accountable to the voters, two is the school department that more or less follows the school committee that is led by the all knowing school superintendent and the third is the Light and Water who has commissioners who count on their Superintendent. There appears to be very little accountability in two out of three major stake holders in town. It is apparent to me that many people are too busy with their lives to want to add to the complexity of that life by having to have the responsibility of over seeing these other two departments. I think one thing is for sure, Templeton has little chance of controlling costs with this fundamental flaw in its foundation.
ReplyDeleteJust think of the families with a number of children. How do you get kids to use water responsibility, just because your water costs so much ? With the pressure that goes with a family, why should you have to worry about how much water you use ? The Templeton Light and Water Commissioners are supposed to watch out for the water users in this Town. They have failed at their job. The people in this Town have the right and power to make things better. It is up to you to make the changes to correct the outcome of the next election, but for a start vote no on the article that asks for a new water tank until we can see the Light and Water budget . Take the power back, one vote at a time !!
DeleteThe Special Town Meeting is tonight at 7:00. This is the time for you to vote for how your Water Bill is going to look for a very long, long time. It will be good to see if the Water Department is going to be able to pay for this tank with out raising your rates, if you have Town Water. This is only one question that needs to be answered. Grab a neighbor, call your friends. This is a very important meeting.
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