Irvington Board Approves 14% Water Rate Increase

"Our hands are tied," Brian Smith, an Irvington trustee, said Monday just before the board voted to approve a 14 percent water rate increase for Irvington residents.  "It's disappointing to have to do this, but we have no choice."

Beginning on July 1, the New York City Water Board, the company from whom Greenburgh and Irvington purchase their water, implemented a new price scheme, raising prices overall by about 25 percent.

Because Irvington does not purchase water directly from the New York City-managed Catskill Aqueduct—routing it first through a pump station in Greenburgh—prices in the village will rise 14 percent, from $4.52 per 100 cubic feet of water to $5.14.

"It was a very difficult and complex process determining the rates," Brenda Jeselnik, village clerk/treasurer, said.  "We have to make sure the village bills enough to pay for both the water and the fixed rate of operating and maintaining the pump station.  But we also don't want to over-bill residents for water not used."

Compounding the financial burden are overage charges the village incurs for all water consumed after a certain amount, which is determined by New York City.

"Overage rates will go from $11.32 per 100 cubic feet of water to $12.90," Jeselnik said. "For the month of June, Irvington was charged $37,000 in overage charges; we haven't even received the bill for July yet." 

Last year, the village received no overage fees until the summer months, when the bills became quite high. "These are the months in which residents water the lawn, do more laundry, take more showers and fill their pools," Jeselnik said.

The village water fund, according to Jeselnik, has experienced a deficit for many years, something which has not posed a problem because the overall fund balance has always been positive.

"It's just not good fiscal practice constantly to work based on a deficit water budget," Jeselnik said. "This could potentially affect the village's bond rating, hindering important projects." 

However, the other difficulty for Jeselnik and Village Administrator Lawrence Schopfer is making sure their water rate cover the fixed cost for operating and maintaining the pump station.  In other words, residents must use a certain amount of water to cover those annual costs.

"This is somewhat of a quagmire," Jonathan Siegel, mayor of Irvington, said. "Using either too much or to little water can be detrimental to the village."

Trustee Constance Kehoe, who works closely with village conservationists, added: "Well, we certainly don't want to give the message, 'Don't conserve.'"

Other villages in a similar situation, such as Ossining, have addressed this problem by developing intricate pricing schemes, the set prices extremely high for the first drops of water used, lower them for water within a certain range and then raise prices again once residents hit New York City's overage threshold.

Although Irvington will not implement any such system now, it is something officials are considering for the future.