Municipal News
West Mayfield Water & Sewage Rate Task Force
Do We Need to Increase Our Water & Sewer Rates in 2027?
In their November 2025 report to Council, consultants with the state’s Strategic Management Planning Program noted that the Borough’s Water & Sewage Enterprise Fund has been running “decreasing surpluses over the 2020 – 2024 period” (see the table).
This “enterprise” fund is a special, self-sustaining municipal fund for this utility, treating water and sewer service as a business, where user fees from bills pay for all related operating costs, capital projects, maintenance, and debt. These funds are kept separate from the Borough’s taxpayer based General Fund for transparency and financial stability.
After the Borough pays for the cost of water service and sewage treatment from the rates collected from residents, any surplus in the fund can be used for maintenance and repairs to our sanitary sewer system–the cost of which is completely the responsibility of Borough taxpayers.
Between 2020-2024, the fund’s surplus has been drastically shrinking. Not only do we have less to spend on sewer maintenance and repairs each year, but the trend suggests that the user rates collected to cover our water and sewage expenditures are not keeping up with operational costs and inflation. If we do nothing to correct this imbalance, the fund will certainly track into the red or become insolvent–lacking the cash flow to pay its debts.
So what does this mean?
The last time Council increased water and sewage rates was in 2013. Since then, the cumulative inflation rate has risen about 42%. With no interim, small, correctional rate increases over the past thirteen years to keep up with rising operational utility costs, Council has allowed the water & sewage enterprise fund to fall behind inflation.
And now we must catch up.
The current Council must face the inescapable question of raising sewage rates enough to be able to pay our water and sewage utility bills so that our enterprise fund remains solvent.
However, the most important questions are how much should we increase water & sewage rates–and when?
Showing Leadership: Local Government & Citizens Must Work Together
On April 8, 2026, Council moved to create a task force to address the serious fiscal issues with the Borough’s Water & Sewage Enterprise Fund. We invite concerned citizens be a part of this community process so that together we can plan for and overcome the financial challenges ahead.
COMMUNITY ACTION PLANNING
Citizens can have a voice in the process by helping Borough officials to better understand problems with our water & sewage system, gather information about other municipal systems and rates, and explore a range of possible solutions to improve our Water & Sewage Enterprise Fund.
