Wayland Wastewater Commission approves FY23 annual report, advances new fine schedule

WAYLAND -- September 13, 2023, Wayland wastewater commissioners approve FY23 annual report and tee up first per-violation fine schedule. Chair Michael Gitten and member Darrin Bock voted 2-0 on Sept. 13 to approve the annual report contingent on a final fix to the estimated fund balance, which Wastewater Administrator Sarah Pawluczonek said was off by roughly $400,000 pending an answer from the town finance office before the Sept. 30 filing deadline. The district finished the year with about $566,000 in operating revenue against $476,000 in operating expenses, roughly $38,000 in net income excluding privilege fees, after Gitten had warned of a projected $100,000 shortfall. DPW Director Thomas Holder presented a rewritten rules-and-regulations draft adding per-day fines and detailed grease-trap requirements; Holder said the fines are deliberately "less than some of the higher violations" in peer towns. Operations Manager Jared Cotton reported Alta Wayland at 88.53 percent occupancy with plant flow nearing 30,000 gallons per day against an 89,000-gallon permit cap.