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Winchester residents will be paying more for water, come the summer. Town Meeting on Thursday night voted unanimously to approve an 8% increase in water and sewer rates.
Article 21 called for the increase for fiscal year 2026, which starts July 1.
Select Board member Anthea Brady said water and sewer rates tend to fluctuate, depending on the weather. Some years, like 2024, are wet while others, like 2021, are dry, but it’s always unpredictable, she added.
As a result, the town in fiscal year 2025 did a rate study that showed Winchester would need to increase its rates by 9.5% and its per-bill service charge from $30 to $35.
Additionally, projections showed Winchester would need to increase the rates by 9.5% annually from FY26 through fiscal year 2028 and by 6% for fiscal year 2029.
Background material provided to Town Meeting stated revenue for FY25 was projected at $7.7 million. However, that number included about $317,000 of ARPA funds to offset MWRA operating assessments.
Preliminary FY26 water and sewer assessments show large increases over FY25.
Brady said the town made inquiries into the high assessments from the MWRA and was told costs are high due to new meters, which were installed in 2022.
“The FY 2026 assessment should be the last year reflecting this additional impact and FY 2027’s sewer O&M assessments should return to ‘typical’ increases,” the town’s background information states.
But town officials believe the water and sewer fund will continue to see “large revenue deficits in future years” because “revenues still are not keeping up with expenses and, therefore, there continues to be a reliance on retained earnings to balance the budget. Almost $900,000 in retained earnings was needed to balance FY 2025’s budget. With no rate action for FY 2026, FY 2026’s projected deficit is again over $900,000 and that does not include planned capital spending out of retained earnings.”
Town Meeting voted unanimously on the measure.
