Framingham Council Delays Fix For Water, Sewer Deficit

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Framingham City Council won't fix a deficit in the water and sewer enterprise fund right away. On Tuesday night, Councilors voted 8-3 to delay a solution until Jan. 15.

Two weeks ago, Mayor Yvonne Spicer alerted the Council about an unexpected $2.5 million gap in the water and sewer enterprise fund. The city learned about the problem while the state Department of Local Services was solidifying the city's 2021 property tax rates.

Spicer asked the Council to approve her plan to fix the deficit: a $200,000 cut to the water and sewer enterprise operating budget, an $800,000 cut from the school department and $1.5 million from the free cash fund.

Several councilors opposed that plan, wanting more time to discuss and find fixes for the enterprise fund's structural deficit. The City Council Finance Subcommittee voted 3-2 on Dec. 8 in favor of a plan floated by Council Chair George King Jr. to send out estimated tax bills in early 2021, effectively giving the Council more time to debate the deficit. State officials, however, told Framingham that it would not send out estimated bills based on a Council vote.

But Tuesday's vote effectively carried out King's proposal anyway. The 8-3 vote was to "table" the discussion on the issue. Without an approved fix for the deficit from the Council, the city won't be able to send out tax bills by Dec. 31.

READ: Framingham May Push Back Tax Bills Over Water-Sewer Fund Deficit

Council Vice Chair Adam Steiner, District 2 Councilor Cesar Stewart-Morales and District 7 Councilor Margareth Basilio Shepard voted against the delay. Those Councilors said it could cost the city money. Tax bills won't be due now until May 1 as opposed to Feb. 1. That means the city could lose an estimated $50,000 in investment revenue, and there's a risk the city could run low on revenue by skipping over the Feb. 1 due date.

The Finance Subcommittee met again on Monday night to discuss the matter, but the five members could not come to a consensus on what to do about the deficit. However, the committee did order a report on how much water and sewer rates might change in the future to fix a structural deficit in the enterprise fund.