Marion Selectmen are considering raising water and sewer rates for the first time in eight years to maintain a budget surplus and to prepare for the possibility of hugely expensive wastewater plant upgrades.

Water bills for the average user will likely increase $14 if the changes are approved.

Jon Gregory, a project manager from Tata & Howard, said this year the town’s water budget was close to breaking even. Without higher rates, he projected deficits of $195,000 in 2018 and $200,000 in 2019. Gregory’s firm specializes in assisting cities and towns with water and wastewater management matters.

Marion Water Department and town officials, with assistance from Tata & Howard, suggested hiking the base water rate 2.5 percent for all users annually through 2019.

On Tuesday night, officials presented Selectmen with their recommendations. Board members will meet again on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Music Hall to field questions and concerns regarding the proposed changes.

In order to meet budget projections for the current fiscal year, Selectmen must approve the rate increases by early September.

The base rate is paid regardless of how much water is consumed. In Marion, there are three tiers of water customers. The majority of consumers are in the first tier, which uses the least amount of water. Officials recommended not changing water usage rates for first tier users, but suggested a three percent increase for second and third tier users this fiscal year. For fiscal year 2018, officials recommended a 15 percent increase.

The newly proposed rates come three years after town officials originally predicted they would be needed. Excellent fiscal planning and an upgrade in the town’s bond rating staved off the rate hikes, said Town Administrator Paul Dawson.

Gregory said different solutions are examined before rate hikes are considered.

“Theoretically, this is the least problematic solution for townspeople, but it also meets the needs of the Water and Sewer Department moving forward,” Gregory said.

The base charge for sewer rates is set to jump 2.5 percent annually now through fiscal year 2019. A 10 percent increase is requested for all tiers this fiscal year.

Rates were last increased in 2007. At the time, water and sewer expenses weren’t as closely monitored and officials were forced to raise rates that, in some cases, doubled resident’s bills.

Since then, water and sewer expenses have been reviewed annually to avoid large rate hikes.

Dawson said the current figure appears steep, but most people’s bills won’t rise too significantly.

To put the increases into perspective, he said the average household in Marion will pay $14 more each billing cycle for water and sewer use this fiscal year. In town, an average household is made up of 2.5 people. That breaks down to an increase of $1.77 for water use and $12.22 for sewer use.

Those fees cover, “employee costs, the cost of purchasing chemicals and all of the other things it costs to run the wastewater plant on a day-to-day basis,” Dawson said.

Future sewer rates are difficult to predict due to uncertainty regarding the town’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES).

A draft permit, released in December, is required for facilities that discharge water into the environment.

It identifies and limits the amount of pollutants released, such as toxins, nitrogen, copper and other materials.

The permit, as written, is so different from the previous one that it’s impossible to follow the new regulations without significant wastewater plant upgrades – possibly costing tens of millions of dollars.

The Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing a request from Selectmen to consider less costly ways to upgrade the plant.

“The big unknown is the permit and what we will be required to do,” said Selectmen Chair Stephen Cushing. “We really have no control over it.”