Village Vexes Voters

A proposal by the Brewster Village Board to increase water rates by two cents to 24 cents per gallon has some residents on the verge of a revolt.

The village trustees are seeking the rate hike to make up a revenue shortfall resulting from decreased water consumption.

The updated water and sewer rates, which were both up for vote on Wednesday night, roused some to question whether or not it’s fair and where the money actually goes.

“For everyone on a budget, the prices get jacked up,” said an audience member, angry that a household in the smaller bracket of water usage gets charged the same fee as one in the largest water bracket. The Board of Trustees, which on Wednesday night included Mayor Jim Schoenig and Trustees Yoshihiko Ito and Terri Stockburger, responded by saying the basic charge was a compromise reviewed by the board, and would serve as a way to pay back the village’s deficit.

In an interview last Thursday, Mayor Schoenig explained that the village finds itself with a $600,000 deficit dating back to 2006: “Carrying such a deficit is a ‘no-no!’ It must be taken care of posthaste. I realize that times are tough, but the shortfall must be drawn down.”

The board has decided to charge village residents an $8 monthly fee per housing unit for water use that will be used to reduce the debt. Out-of-village residents using the Brewster water supply will be assessed $5 each month plus 23 cents per gallon, billed quarterly. The mayor estimated by taking the course of action Brewster will have its debt paid off within the next five to six years.

At the town’s meeting this did not sit as easily. “It’s still sucking the little guy,” an audience member said, adding, “Do you feel it’s fair?” That night, Mayor Schoenig replied, “I feel it’s equitable.” He continued, “This board does not do the best for the five people up here, we do the best for everyone,” citing that the board is also among the public that stands in the lower water bracket.

At the meeting, the water rate was voted on and approved, but not without a moment of reluctance from Trustee Ito, who paused and commented that he didn’t like it.

“Don’t do it,” shouted an audience member. But Ito, along with the rest of the board, voted yes.

Mayor Schoenig said he realizes that people are resistant to paying any additional taxes in this uncertain economy, but he added: “We are not talking about thousands or even hundreds of dollars.”

Citing his own home, Schoenig estimated the village’s water bill would increase from its current $162 a quarter to $190 a quarter. Barbara Vehaba, a resident in Brewster, charged the proposed rate hike was a “fight for our homes. I am paying almost $2,000 a year for water. Another 20 percent increase is out of the question.”

Putnam Legislator Tony Hay, of Southeast, called it his “philosophic view that money from a water district should not be used as a revenue source to fund costs above and beyond what it takes to maintain that water district.”

Southeast Supervisor Michael Rights charged that the Village Board was not even “making a pretense that their water production costs are astronomical. They want the money unrelated to water production to bail itself out. The Village Board’s abuse of its water monopoly is unacceptable.”

Resident George Gray asked: “Why should 30 percent of the cost of the Brewster Police Department be covered by water revenues unless 30 percent of the officer’s time was used to protect the water supply, which is simply preposterous.”

Mayor Schoenig said services such as the police force were necessary in the protection and maintenance of the village’s water.

“I could have hired a private security firm to protect the water plant but the village now has its own police department. I believe that’s fair to have the cop on the beat keep tabs on the water system,” said the mayor. Schoenig charged that residents of Brewster were making a “mountain out of a molehill. We are not talking about large amounts of money here. Homeland Security protects drinking water at all costs. The village is being unfairly attacked.”