Watertown mayor proposes extra charge for heavy water users

A proposal floated by Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham earlier this week to provide additional revenue for the city would indeed bring in some extra cash, but none that could be used to fix pot holes or to purchase pickup trucks.

During a council budget session on Wednesday the mayor said the city should lop off the highest tier of its water distribution charges, which would charge higher rates for the city’s largest water users.

While Water Superintendent Gary E. Pilon said it will take some time to calculate how much revenue would come in from the proposal, but added that any additional money earned by removing the highest tier can only be used in the city’s water fund.

State laws concerning what constitutes as operating fund revenues versus water fund revenues are very strict, so much so that the office space the water department occupies in City Hall must be leased each year, Mr. Pilon said.

The city took in $161,850 during the 2009-10 fiscal year for land and office space it rents to the water and sewer departments and its health insurance administrator POMCO at City Hall, Watertown Golf Club at Thompson Park and the Watertown Family YMCA and Watertown Wizards at the fairgrounds.

While the water fund is stable, with an annual $4.8 million budget and a $1.3 million general fund balance, portions of the city’s distribution system have been in the ground for almost 100 years. For example, a main that split on Flower Avenue East in March was installed in the 1930s. Mr. Pilon said on Wednesday that a cast iron pipe recently pulled from Marshall Place was brittle enough to poke a hole through it.

Mr. Pilon is expected to put a report together that outlines the financial impact Mr. Graham’s proposal has on the city’s income and the impact it will have to each of the city’s largest water buyers.