East Brookfield Select Board Tables Water Rate Vote, Eyes Three Restructuring Options

EAST BROOKFIELD — May 4, 2026 — East Brookfield Select Board examines three water rate options to close a $1.5 million fiscal 2027 gap, deferring any vote to May 11. The board reviewed internally modeled scenarios that would raise the quarterly base rate from $325 to as high as $475, driven by a more than $350,000 jump in annual debt service and a system-wide decline in water usage. All three options assumed a $150,000 draw from the enterprise fund's retained earnings balance, which currently exceeds $200,000. One member argued that a base rate below $400 is "not fair" to higher-volume ratepayers already subsidizing flat-rate customers, noting that annual debt service runs roughly $2,327 per metered account while the lowest proposed annual charge would be $1,600. Members also discussed billing municipal buildings at double the residential base rate — an estimated $16,000 in new enterprise-fund revenue — but agreed that change belongs in the fiscal 2028 budget cycle. A rate study from a consulting firm identified as Recap is pending delivery of full usage data before preliminary findings can be presented.