Hatfield Select Board Approves 25 Percent Sewer Rate Hike to Pursue USDA Grants

HATFIELD — February 18, 2020 — Hatfield Select Board unanimously approves 25 percent sewer rate increase to pursue federal infrastructure grants. The board voted Tuesday to implement rate hikes recommended by DPC Engineering consultants Dave Birkin and James Rivers, who told the board that Hatfield's treatment plant — built in the early 1980s and approaching 40 years old — requires between $10 million and $12 million in near-term capital work. The 25 percent sewer increase translates to roughly $120 per year for the average residential customer connected to the system; a companion 5 percent water rate increase adds about $1.70 per month. The increases are specifically structured to meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program's eligibility threshold, which offers 40-year loans at 1.625 percent interest — roughly half the annual debt service cost of conventional municipal financing. The board also accepted the resignation of Dave Santoni from the Recreation Commission, appointed Teresa Wozniak to the Board of Registrars, declared retired Jaws of Life equipment surplus, and accepted a donated PVTA van for the town's Council on Aging.