Fall Festival 9/14/24 Independent Party HandoutWater and Sewer Rate Deficiency Questions the Town Can’t Answer

Why weren’t the ratepayers involved, or at least notified, about the decision to ignore Waterbury’s rate increase?

Why didn’t we pay some of the rate increase to Waterbury?

• Who made this decision?

How much money has been set aside in reserve for this lawsuit?

• What is the split of the reserve between the Water and Sewer Authority and the Watertown Fire District?

• Were the funds in reserve obtained from the rate payers?

How much of the General Fund will be used to pay the balance?

• What balance will be left in the General Fund?

• What is the impact on our bond rating and interest rate?

• How much will becut from our Budget to replenish the General Fund?

• How much money will the town need to borrow to cover the shortfall?

Why wasn’t this lawsuit disclosed in our audited financial statements?

• What will the impact be on our credit rating?

• What will the impact be on the interest rate we will pay?

• Will this failure to disclose keep us from being able to borrow money?

• What is the impact of the non-disclosure on our existing bonds that were issued relying on our financial statements?

• Why did the Town Attorney notify the auditors about the “material” impact of this lawsuit days after our most recent audit report was issued?

How will the shortfall be allocated between ratepayers and the entire Town?

• Will ratepayers be charged the full amount of interest owed Waterbury or will that cost be shared by the whole Town?

• Will ratepayers be charged for the full 5 years even if they did not own their home for 5 years?

• What will happen with the amount owed by businesses who have gone out of business or moved away?

• The town plans to buy Mark Greenberg’s property on Main Street.  Will the Town pay the arrearages on this property?

• When will residential users have to pay the full amount?

  • How long will they have to pay?

  • What interest rate will they be charged?

How will this affect Watertown’s Budget?

• How much will this increase our mil rate?

• Will the Board of Education’s shortfall be paid out of the General Fund?

• How will municipal buildings pay their arrearages?

What is the process to determine the amount each ratepayer owes?

• Is it a simple software query? 

• Will it require a manual search through 5 years of billing records for 4,500 customers to determine past usage?

What will happen if the homeowner or business does not pay?

• Will liens be put on homes or businesses?

• Will the Town shut off their water?

How much will our rate increase?

• What will the increase be this year?

• How much will the fullrate increase be, and when will we see it? 

What happens to homeowners who want to sell their homes?

• Who is responsible for paying the shortfall?

• Will they be required to disclose this to potential buyers?

• Will they need to hold back payment for the deficiency out of their sale proceeds until there is a final resolution?

• Who will compute homeowner’s liability during the appeal process?

Can landlords pass this charge onto renters who have a lease?

The appeal process could takeyears. What happens during this period?

• What rate will the ratepayers be charged?

• What rate will the Town pay Waterbury?

• Will the full amount owed plus 18% interest be added to reserves?

• What happens when property is bought or sold?

Since the Court found that Watertown’s expert’s testimony was not reliable, why did the Town hire them for more work?

The Republican Town Council has been in charge since this mess began.

Republicans have demonstrated their inability to solve this problem.

DO NOT Vote for Republicans on November 7.  Vote Independent.

Paid for by the Watertown-Oakville Independent Party Town Committee, Rose Soboleski, Treasurer