GUILDERLAND — The town has updated the rates it charges both homeowners and businesses for the use of public water.

“We’re going from a unit-based structure to a consumption-based structure,” said Supervisor Peter Barber.

At its Dec. 10 meeting, the town board agreed to hire Core & Main to install about 10,000 water meters in homes across town for just under $5 million. Almost 10,000 meters are to be installed throughout Guilderland, starting in late winter with the goal of completing the installation of new meters within a year.

The Advance Metering Infrastructure system, known as AMI, will let the water department receive data on usage in near real time. This system will also let the department notify customers within a day if there were to be a severe leak rather than waiting till the meter was read, perhaps months later; it is also expected to make billing easier.

A notice from Bill Bremigen, superintendent of water and wastewater management, explains that residential rates apply to all single-family houses while commercial rates apply to all businesses and residential properties with more than one single-family dwelling unit. 

Residential users will no longer be assessed a flat fee for the first 30,000 gallons used. Rather, each will be charged a $30 minimum fee. Water fees will be based on the actual usage with the first tier being 0 to 30,000 gallons, with a rate of $1 per 1,000 gallons.

So, for example, if a resident uses 15,000 gallons, his water bill will be $45 — a $30 flat fee plus a $15 use fee. If a resident uses 30,000 gallons, her bill will be $60 — a $30 flat fee plus a $30 usage fee.

Commercial users were previously charged on units of 30,000 gallons each. Metered usage would only be billed per 1,000 gallons used if the commercial customer went over his allotted units. 

The new rates no longer use units. Rather, after paying a $40 minimum fee, commercial customers now pay on the actual usage with the first tier being 0 to 30,000 gallons, with a rate of $1.50 per 1,000 gallons.

So, for example, if a commercial customer uses 30,000 gallons, her water bill will be $85 — a $40 base fee plus a $45 usage fee. If he uses 100,000 gallons, his bill will be $322.50 — a $40 flat fee plus a $282.50 usage fee. 

“The transition away from a unit-based billing system may result in some customers seeing an increase in their bill, while others may see a decrease,” the notice says. “This change to a consumption-based billing model provides customers with greater control over their water bills, as charges will directly reflect actual water usage.”

Board discussion

Jesse Fraine, the town’s engineer, went over the schedule and answered questions from board members. The idea, he said, was not to increase rates for low users while moving away from the antiquated unit-based system, which is now rarely used.

Fraine said the new system is less confusing. “There’s a relatively low minimum fee and then everyone just pays per-thousand gallons based on different rates per different tiers,” he said. “As you go higher and use more water, the rates go up a little bit to account for the extra usage.”

Prompted by Barber, Fraine said Guilderland’s rates are “cheaper than the majority of the other municipalities around us.” Most, he said, “can be even 100-percent more.”

Billing is done in six-month cycles, Fraine said.

Board member Amanda Beedle asked if different commercial rates had been considered to, for example, accommodate restaurants that would use more water than, say, a hardware store.

“I just have concerns about some smaller restaurants that are opening up that might get penalized with this,” said Beedle.

Fraine responded that breaking out per use would be “over complicating” the schedule.

“It is a reasonable rate,” said Fraine. “Now, if that same restaurant started up in a neighboring municipality, it would be significantly more.”

Councilman Jacob Crawford asked about the residential rates, which are higher in the summer than in the winter. The first two tiers are the same all year. But the third tier, for over 60,000 gallons, is $4.30 in the winter and $$5.55 in the summer.

In the summer, a fourth tier is added, for over 120,000 gallons, which is billed at $6.75.

“So it’s actually for people who are using a large amount of water in the summertime for their lawns,” said Deputy Supervisor Christine Napierski. Referencing past board discussions, she went on, “We want to kind of discourage, you know, people using way too much water because we can’t meet the demand.”

“The intent,” said Fraine, “is to keep the low users at a low, reasonable rate.”

Resident Robyn Gray asked, “If they’re using it to water their lawn three times a day, is there something that we can do to prevent that so that we don’t end up having to pay for all this water from all these other sources?”

She added, “It’s cheaper for somebody to just drop a well in their yard.”

Fraine responded that, when there is a water shortage, the town has historically put out a notice, limiting use. “And then we have driven around and if we catch people watering, tell them that they can’t.”

Barber suggested the new home water meters would make that easier.

“In the past, the town talked about, during times of water restriction, issuing citations,” said the town attorney, James Melita. “I know we could do that as well for enforcement.”

Beedle noted that some homeowner associations require residents to “keep a green lawn.”

“Those single-family developments with HOAs are generally large users in the summer,” said Fraine.

In answer to a resident’s question about whether commercial rates should be raised as well to prevent lawn-watering, Fraine said that the town had just 800 commercial users among its 10,000 water customers.

“So the amount we’re actually losing to a commercial that’s irrigating is a lot less than all the single-family homes that are irrigating,” said Fraine.

The new rates went into effect the day after the board’s March 4 unanimous vote.

Other business

In other business at its March 4 meeting, the Guilderland Town Board:

— Heard from resident Chris Farrell that his wife, on her way to the YMCA, had her car hit by a car coming down Winding Brook Drive as she was coming off of Mercy Care Lane. “Thankfully, my wife wasn’t badly injured. Our car was totaled,” he said.

He suggested a lower speed limit and a four-way stop. Barber said the Traffic Safety Committee would look into it;

— Heard a recommendation from Robyn Gray, who serves on the Coalition for Open Government’s Capital Region advisory council, that residents be able to participate remotely in town meetings. Barber responded that is not currently allowed under the state’s Open Meetings Law.

Gray said the rules apply to board members who participate remotely not to the public. The town attorney, Melita, said he’d look into it;

— Adjusted the Hardship Fee Waiver schedule used by Guilderland Emergency Medical Services. Sean McGaughanea, GEMS’s acting director, wrote in a memo to the board that the original schedule was based on federal guidelines while state guidelines, he said, “more accurately reflect the financial realities of the residents and patients we serve”;

—  Scheduled a public hearing for May 6 at 7 p.m. on a bill that would extend tax breaks to Guilderland residents who are volunteer firefighters in fire departments in adjoining municipalities.

Barber gave as an example a McKownville resident who is serving in the North Bethlehem fire department.

“Not in our town,” he said, “but not only providing services to Bethlehem but they also do support calls in our town.”

He went on, “It’s also the right thing to do. These are volunteers. We want to encourage volunteers.”

Barber estimated that, if the bill passes, it would grant tax breaks to four or five additional firefighters. Similar to in-town firefighters, they would get a tax break of 10 percent of assessed value.

The bill applies to the neighboring municipalities of Bethlehem, Colonie, Knox, Princetown, and Rotterdam. The neighboring city of Albany has a paid fire department.

New Scotland is considering a similar bill and Bethlehem has already adopted such a law;

— Awarded to three vendors, each the lowest bidder, contracts for supplying water-treatment chemicals for 2025-26;

— Approved agreements for the 2025 summer season at the Guilderland Performing Arts Center in Tawasentha Park: "Tame the Rooster” on July 3 for $1,000; “Black Mountain Symphony” for $750 on July 10; “Annie & The Hedonists” for $1,500 on July 24; and “Hey Jude” for $1,600 on Aug. 14;

— Appointed Ian Keefe, Brooke O’Keefe, Jason Winckler to permanent jobs as emergency medical technicians;

— Waived all building, zoning, and planning fees associated with the McKownville Fire District's new fire station at 1250 Western Ave.; and

— Heard from Barber that the town board’s April 15 meeting is canceled because it is Passover.