Suffolk County Water Authority proposes 4.2% rate hike

Suffolk Water Authority officials have proposed a 4.2 percent rate increase starting April 1, which amounts to $15.28 increase for the average homeowner a year, but put off a broader rate overhaul aimed at encouraging conservation among the agency’s heaviest users.

The authority’s five-member board voted to hold a March 9 public hearing on the proposed rate increase, which would increase the annual water bill for the average customer who uses 160,000 gallons from $364.80 to $380.08 annually.

Douglas Celiberti, the authority’s chief financial officer, said the authority’s rates, even with the increase, will remain among the lowest in the state for its 359,000 customers, saying a customer’s water cost amounts to $1.05 a day for 440 gallons.

Officials say the authority, which has a $179 million budget this year, needs the rate hike because it is facing an 8 percent increase in health insurance in the coming year, a 2 percent increase in electric costs, and increased costs to maintain the authority’s aging infrastructure.

The authority board also put forward a proposed 5 percent increase in wholesale rates for the water districts in St. James, Smithtown and Greenport, with about 10,278 customers. Rate consultants say those low rates in the past have been subsidized by other water authority customers. The consultants had proposed a 7 percent hike, but board member Mario Mattera pressed for a smaller increase. However, the rate increases will not take effect until Jan. 1 because the districts incorporate the rates into their property tax bills.

The new rates also will bring about 11,000 authority customers who were once served by several private water companies in Shoreham, Bridgehampton and Greenport into the same rate structure as other authority customers. Their rate increases would range from $15 to $25 a year.

The authority’s outside consultants, Municipal and Financial Services Group, also had proposed a two-tier rate system to impose higher rates on those who use the most water, but the board balked at that change because of concerns that hospitals, nursing homes, trailer parks, and other multifamily housing complexes for low- and moderate-income residents might be adversely affected by the changes.

James Gaughran, authority chairman, said the board does not want to see people “abusing water with McMansions all over the Hamptons,” but the board wants to more closely assess potential unintended impacts before moving ahead with any changes.

The rate hearing will be held at the authority headquarters in Oakdale at 5:30 p.m. March 9.