FORT KENT, Maine — Most Fort Kent residents will see a 75% increase in their water rate next year to pay for infrastructure upgrades.
Town officials explained the reasons behind the hike Wednesday night at a public hearing. Most ratepayers, 559 out of the total 640 in Fort Kent, will pay roughly $12 more per month.
It will be the first water rate increase in more than two decades. The town has not changed its water rates since 2002, and the proposed increase will help the town meet costs related to ongoing water department operations and projects, officials said.
Town Manager Suzie Paradis said the town recently completed a water line replacement project on Pleasant Street that cost roughly $2.5 million. This project had a principal forgiveness of $1.8 million and the town was left with a $686,000 balance which it is paying via a 20-year municipal bond.
Paradis said the town is currently working on a mile-long water replacement project on Route 1 from Pump House Road to Station Hill. This will replace the town’s current asbestos cement pipe with ductile iron pipe. The town has applied for a federal grant for this project, but it will not cover the entire $7 million cost, she said.
At the start of next year, Fort Kent’s new monthly rate for 400 cubic feet of water will be $26.52. Officials distributed a handout showing water rates in some other communities, all of which were higher than Fort Kent. Mars Hill’s current monthly rate for 400 cubic feet is $39.67, Dover’s is $39.42, Van Buren’s is $32.05, and Fort Fairfield’s is $25.16.
Other communities have recently increased water rates as well. Frenchville announced an increase earlier this year. And the Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone increased its water rate by nearly 1,000% for some customers, bringing the rate of $40 per quarter for 900 cubic feet to $471 for the same amount. Loring residents and business owners subsequently petitioned against the increase.
Despite a letter that mistakenly went out to water and sewer customers, the new rate will only affect water users, officials told residents.
One resident asked why town officials are just now presenting this rate increase when these projects have been in the works for many years.
Water and Sewer Department Head Greg Bernier said that he and Paradis both worked to initiate rate increases as soon as they could, but that it is a lengthy process. He said he only took over the department three years ago, and that Paradis became town manager shortly before this.
“I saw right away that we needed to do something,” he said, “and so did Suzie. So we took action and started working on that right away.”
Bernier said, in response to a comment from the same resident about how this could hurt residents on fixed incomes, that the department hopes to avoid situations like this by making smaller, more incremental increases in the future.
“I own a property in town too,” he said. “I know the need for this increase because I deal with it every day, but I know it’s hard on a lot of residents that are on a fixed income. We apologize and wish we didn’t have to do this, but at some point we were stuck and we had to do it.”
The water department will see a total increase of $222,511 as a result of the new rates. The Town Council will approve the new rates during an Oct. 21 meeting.