Wayland Board of Public Works Approves $15,812 Housing Authority Water Abatement

WAYLAND -- May 21, 2024, Wayland Board of Public Works approves $15,812 water bill abatement and begins FY25 rate-setting process. The board, meeting remotely on May 21, unanimously elected Michael Wegerbauer as chair and George Vigis as vice chair, seated two new members, Michael Spelman and Judy Ling, and approved a water bill abatement of $15,812.85 for the Wayland Housing Authority, whose Building 6 recorded an anomalous usage spike in fall 2023; the revised figure applied Tier 1 rates rather than the full four-tier schedule, reducing the abatement from an earlier estimate of roughly $22,900. Financial consultant Matt Abrahams of the Abrahams Group walked the board through a 41-tab Excel rate model showing the water enterprise fund on track to lose approximately $325,000 in FY25 under flat rates, with scenarios tested at 2 percent to 6 percent increases suggesting a roughly 6 percent hike would bring revenue close to the $4.73 million Town Meeting-approved budget. The board also noted a projected MWRA operating assessment of $1.8 million annually beginning in FY31 under a hybrid supply model, rising to $3.6 million if the town opts for 100 percent MWRA water, against a current total budget just under $5 million.