Wayland Board of Public Works sets FY26 retained earnings target at 20 percent

WAYLAND — June 11, 2025 — Wayland water board votes 4-1 to hold FY26 rate increase at roughly 1 percent. The Board of Public Works set the water enterprise fund's end-of-year retained earnings target at 20 percent of the $4.9 million operating budget — about $938,000, against a current balance near $1.1 million — over the dissent of Chair George Uveges. Consultant Matt Abrams's model shows a 1 percent across-the-board increase clears the target, helped by new meters expected to lift billed consumption by up to 15 percent. Uveges warned that a near-flat year would undercut the board ahead of a June 30 joint meeting with the Select Board on who pays the MWRA dual-source debt; a circulated analysis projects water expenses rising 32 percent by 2030 if the town covers the debt in taxes, or 74 percent if it falls on ratepayers. DPW Director Tom Holder said Baldwin Pond and Happy Hollow projects will not hit the FY26 budget. The rate hearing is June 17.