Sewer Rate Increase Approved By Select Board In Unanimous Vote

The Select Board voted 4-0 on Wednesday to increase the island’s sewer rates, implementing pricing tiers that will hit heavy users the hardest. A previous plan would have led to a slight decrease in rates for approximately 26 percent of users, but after facing criticism from Select Board Vice Chair Matt Fee, town staff revised the plan so that all users would see at least some increase in their rates.

While rates already change during the summer under the current system, they are mostly flat regardless of how much water customers use. The new system implements tiers, charging more for high usage.

To ensure that no customers see lower rates, the new plan has higher base rates and charges slightly more in each tier during the first phase of implementation than the previous plan presented to the Select Board on July 9th. At Wednesday’s meeting, Nantucket Finance Director Brian Turbitt presented data suggesting that the new plan will result in the town’s income increasing by approximately 29 percent compared to current rates and around 4 percent compared to the previous plan.

In an email to the Current, Turbitt confirmed that once full implementation is reached, the plan presented Wednesday will be identical to the plan presented July 9th. The projections that showed some users getting a decrease in rates were based on their total bill for a year, and only the first phase had to be adjusted to ensure everyone experienced an increase in rates.

According to the town’s website, the current rate is $7.30 per 100 cubic feet from November 1st through April 30th and $9.70 per 100 cubic feet from May 1st through October 31st. Under the new system, by January 2026, rates would start at $10.00 but could get as high as $16.90 for heavy use.

The new rates will be phased in over the next seven months. The first bill reflecting increased costs will arrive in September, with full implementation of the new billing system expected to be complete by February 2026. The effective date for the increase is the month before each bill.