Boothbay Harbor Sewer District trustees on Dec. 5 approved a $2.1 million budget and an 8% rate increase. The trustees are expect to sign the budget at their next meeting; the increase will go into effect Jan. 1.

“The budget is just keeping what we’ve got going,” Superintendent Chris Higgins said at the meeting. “It’s a pretty lean budget. Basically, it's just treatment costs and maintenance costs.” 

The unanimous votes for the budget and rates were taken at a trustee meeting and public hearing, the third budget workshop for the district. The meeting was attended by all trustees: Deryl Kipp, Russell Hoffman and James Stormont. Stormont attended virtually due to medical care. Superintendents Higgins and Nick DeGemmis and some members of the public were also in the meeting.  

The planned new budget is $2,136,915; 2023’s budget, $2,199,892. However, according to Higgins, the district is operating at a deficit and needs the rate increase to get back to even. He said previous budgets were artificially low due to rate freezes around COVID, and the district is still working to keep up with operating costs, fund reserves and equipment depreciation. 

Higgins said the largest drivers of budget changes are rising power costs and inflation, especially chemicals’ prices, which he called “brutal.” According to the budget, plant operations costs, including chemicals, increased by around $38,000 (11.5%) from the 2023 budget. In addition, Higgins said the cost of sludge disposal has increased about 25% due to new legislation and regulation changes.  

The 8% rate increase was calculated based on the budget’s needs, according to Higgins. Rates were last changed in January, increasing around 6% from 2022. According to the district, the average residential bill will be $658.80, or $578.97 for seasonal use. For businesses, average rates are $3,160.69 and $4,104.18, respectively.  

In other business, the trustees discussed the proposed $8.6 million seawall project to safeguard the plant against rising sea levels and storms. Higgins told the Boothbay Harbor selectmen in September, three recent storms have led to backups at the facility, and the same tides brought water six inches from going in the doors. According to Higgins, the district has over $4 million in grant money for the project that must be used by 2026, and a project plan is in development. 

The board also discussed a recent project to reline the 1963 main lines and rehabilitate most of the manholes in the system. Higgins said the project did not have as much impact as he had hoped on the influx of water into the system, which negatively impacts its effectiveness and rates. He said the results suggest there are problems with unknown tie-ins from private property. He said the district has done video monitoring of the system and did not see illicit connections; the next step would be a smoke test to learn more.