EAST PROVIDENCE — The water and sewer rate issues which have been boiling over for the last six weeks have seemingly come to a simmer after another in a series of lengthy discussions held on the matter during a special City Council session held Wednesday night, Dec. 10.
The Council, the new five-member group meeting for the first time since being elected to office in early November, heard from some familiar and new voices on the subject that burst on the scene with the issuance of quarterly bills last month.
The issue of water and sewer rates, often conflated during previous meetings, was clarified to a point Wednesday. The way the rates are set are two totally separate items.
One shared way in which the rates are set is any debt service outstanding for either account, and that’s been the crux of the angst created in recent weeks.
The city has roughly $49 million in outstanding debt from the previous $52 million in bonds used to begin revitalizing the water system five years ago and the $19 million in improvements set to be made starting in the spring of 2015.
Ward 2 Councilman Helder Cunha continued to push the possibility of being able to refinance the debt at a lower rate of interest, thus allowing for lessening the burden on bill payers.
Wednesday, City Finance Director Malcolm Moore told Mr. Cunha and the rest of Council about refinancing the “short answer is, no, you can’t…There are so many hurdles to go through.”
The city’s bond attorney, Karen Grande, reiterated Mr. Moore’s conclusions. She answered a number of questions asked by Mr. Cunha pertaining to refinancing and even rescinding the city’s commitment to the planned $19 million project, rebuffing the councilman’s queries at just about every turn.
Ms. Grande, making her first appearance before the Council to talk specifically about water issues, noted the bonds are tied to the state through the Rhode Island Clean Water Agency, which serves as a conduit between municipalities and lenders for infrastructure projects. The city could be penalized significantly for attempting to break any agreements.
On the idea of potentially walking away from the current $19 million commitment to improvements, Acting City Manager Paul Lemont said, “If we say to the State of Rhode Island we’re not going to do what you want, I hate to think of the consequences.”
The consequences of little to no investment in the water/sewer system for the last 40-plus years as well as a reluctance on the part of past politicians to raise levies are what residents are facing now.
Mr. Lemont said, “I can blame lots of Councils where we sat and did nothing. And so the scene went to rack and ruin…(The overall costs) have come home to roost and we have to pay for it.”
The manager added the bonds for the work are now coming due causing the rates to spike. He said in discussions with the Narragansett Bay Commission on the topic, the oversight board is facing similar situations with systems it operates or contributes to throughout the state. Old and outdated aspects will soon need to be replaced at a significant price. He did say, however, both the NBC and East Providence are probably “close to the ceiling in terms of rates.”
The rate that went into effect for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2014-15 in November for sewer consumption $10.74 per 100 cubic feet. The city’s water rate is currently $3.32 per 100. Water Department Director Jim Marvel, making yet another appearance before the Council on the matter Wednesday, said East Providence’s sewer rate is high comparative to municipalities around the state, but it’s water rate remains among the lowest. He added combined, the overall water/sewer charge is also in the lower third of cities and towns in Rhode Island.
At different times during the meeting, Councilors Tracy Capobianco and Tim Conley expressed similar sentiments, saying though there is a significant cost attributed to the improvements and previous methodologies likely weren’t prudent, the need to continuing to rebuild the city’s water/sewer system was necessary and should not be put off any longer.
“I’m not going anywhere. I live here. My kids live here,” Mrs. Capobianco said. “I’m not interested in having water that isn’t clean, pipes that are 100 years old…We need to do it. Other people didn’t do it.”