Southwick Announces Increased Sewer Rates as Debt Concerns Continue to Rise

[Southwick] Recently, the Southwick Water Commissioners voted unanimously to raise sewer rates in the city. This came after prolonged discussions spanning the course of last year because no one wanted to see these rate increases happen. The reason Southwick saw the increase in rates was due to an inability to get new customers connected and a decrease in a subsidy that they have relied on heavily.

Even with this increase in sewer rates due to a lack of funding, Southwick is still looking to bond upwards of $15 million in order to build out the government-owned broadband network Whip City Fiber. If Southwick struggles to find enough customers for the network, they may find themselves in the same position they have been in the past year and have to increase the rates even further to pay back the large bond. This could be an even worse situation, as the town only faces a deficit of $224,000 a year from the sewer utility, which is much smaller than the $15 million deficit they will be putting themselves in. With the town's proven track record of struggling to get sufficient take rates, combined with the much larger deficit they will be facing, bonding money for Whip City Fiber will undoubtedly put Southwick residents' financial well-being at risk.