PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council preliminarily approved a 12 percent water rate increase and a 25 percent sewer rate increase on Thursday.

For scheduled service, the average two-bathroom household will see a $12.87 increase per month and for metered service, the average four-member household will see a $9.33 increase per month. The effective date is July 1.

In response to the regular pushback on rate hikes, Councilor at Large Earl Persip III asked Finance Director Matthew Kerwood what would happen if the city did not raise them.  

Kerwood reported that if the state Department of Revenue doesn't feel that the projected revenues cannot be met, the tax rate will not be certified and the city will have to do a general fund subsidy. In this case, he said it would be raised on the recapitulation sheet and ultimately be on the tax rates instead of the water and sewer rates.

"No one up here wants to raise rates but we have to pay for it," Persip said.

For the first toilet, per year, water rates will go from $271.36 to $298.52, and sewer rates will go from $303.04 to $378.80. Additional toilets per year will increase from $135.72 to $149.32 for water and from $151.56 to $189.48 for sewer.

Metered water per cubic foot will increase from $1.96 to $2.16 for water and from $3.60 to $4.50 for sewer.

The average two-bathroom house will pay about $1,016.12 per year, a $154.44 increase from this year, and a four-member metered household will pay $680.28 per year, a $112.02 increase from the previous year.

The motions passed with Councilor at Large Karen Kalinowksy, Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren, Ward 2 Councilor Charles Kronick, and Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio in opposition. Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey was absent.

It will go before the council again for final approval on Tuesday.

Overall, the voices of opposition expressed concern for Pittsfield's senior residents being able to afford the increase and advocated for metered infrastructure throughout the city.

Warren referenced a conversation that he had with a 90-year-old woman who was very frustrated with the increase and not sure how she would get by.

He held up a sign that displayed the more than $300 difference between metered and non-metered household rates and pointed out that she would use less than the four-member household average.

"A 90-year-old woman, a 65-year-old man, whatever, shouldn't be subsidizing a household of four of any type that are younger and have more assets available to them," Warren said.

He said the city has more than 10,000 unmetered accounts and there are nearly 150 who are able to apply for tax abatements.

Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales said the city is ready to start purchasing meters but there is a shortage of the equipment and contractors to install them.

It was also pointed out that there are assistance programs through the Berkshire Community Action Council for people who are having trouble paying water and sewer bills.

Persip does support water meters but said it will take a considerable amount of time and the city needs to do what is right for the taxpayers in the meantime.

"I think we should work towards requiring new construction to be metered. I think we're just only getting ourselves behind the eight ball of getting everybody metered because I think that's probably everybody's goal but we all probably won't be here by the time that happens with 10,000 homes unmetered," he explained.

"And I think there's still a stigma out there for families of four and bigger that think if they go meter, they're going to pay more. I tell people at home that is not true. It's not true. Metered is way better and pays for itself very quickly."

He added that this is one of the days that the council has to do something they don't like.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi asked Kerwood what would happen if everyone had a meter and he said the metered price would become "astronomical" because the city still has to raise the same amount of revenue.

"Being on metered is based on usage so the revenue generated is based on what people are using," he said. "So again, heavy users would pay more, lighter users would pay less but you still need to get to that revenue number."

Lampiasi pointed out that the younger generation is also struggling with the costs of living.

"We also have millennials that are struggling to purchase homes. We have millennials that have bought homes and the last five years and their taxes have gone up considerably more than they ever expected to see and that is the product of kicking the can down the road for my entire lifetime and we have to address it now. That's all I'll say," she said.

"We don't want to do this, we don't want to increase it. We want young people and older people to buy homes and stay in their homes and all of those things but we cannot ignore problems just because we don't want to address them. We have to address the systemic issue that has brought us to this place and debating about whether or not we just pretend not to pay this bill and deal with it in three to six months is a waste of our time."

President Peter Marchetti doesn't feel that the city does anyone justice by not increasing the rates for two or three years and then having a marked increase.

"This compared to what we've done in the past a small," he said. "A 12% and 25% increase is small compared to the ones that we've had to bite in the past in order to catch up for what we didn't do."

The council also voted to borrow an aggregate sum not exceeding $14,445,000.00 for Enterprise Fund Capital Expenditures for fiscal year 2024.

In this past fiscal year there was a 10 percent increase in water rates and a 12 percent increase in sewer rates.

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