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Individual municipal water customers in the Lansings have subsidized large business users for years.  More than 50% of Bolton Point residential customers use less than the minimum of 10,000 gallons per quarter minimum they are charged for, effectively subsidizing large water users like Borg Warner, the Ithaca Mall and Cargill.  Individuals like Ladoga Park resident Dave Heck have long advocated a smaller minimum on the grounds that it would provide relief for seniors on fixed incomes who don't come close to the minimum.  Four years ago Water Commissioner and Village of Lansing Mayor Donald Hartill took up the banner, starting a discussion among Bolton Point Planning and Public Affairs Committee members about developing a fairer rate structure that would continue to cover operating costs.

"There is a step where we calculate the extra income from the minimum rate charge," Hartill said.  "It turns out the current calculation typically reduces the water rate around 10%.  The effect is that people who use less water than 10,000 gallons per quarter are actually subsidizing the big users."

Over the past couple of weeks Bolton Point officials have been visiting their constituent municipalities to explain a new proposed rate structure they say will come closer to matching what users pay and what they consume.  The new rate, if adopted, will reduce the quarterly minimum to 5,000 gallons, which officials say will mean that Bolton Point customers will be closer to paying for the water they actually use.  If adopted, the new rate will apply to the water commission's five constituent municipalities including The Towns of Dryden, Ithaca, Lansing, and the Villages of Cayuga Heights and Lansing.

"We had four goals," Water Commissioner Jack Rueckheim told Village of Lansing Trustees Monday.  "First was fairness.  We wanted to make sure that consumption more closely aligned with revenue paid.  Our second goal was that whatever rate structure we chose had to have the ability to generate the required revenue, keeping in mind that about ¾ of Bolton Point’s costs are fixed.  Whether you use a gallon or 9,999 gallons a certain cost is there that doesn’t change.  We wanted the new structure to have the ability to encourage and reward water conservation.  We thought there should be some payment by residential customers to cover those fixed costs."


Ruckheim was at the Village with Bolton Point Production Manager Joan Foote Monday to answer questions about the proposal.  He visited the Lansing Town Board a few weeks ago as well, along with Water Commissioner and Village of Cayuga Heights Mayor Linda Woodard, who worked out the calculations for the proposed water rate change.

Woodard explored about 20 different water rate scenarios.  Working on data gathered in 2014 and 2015 she finally settled on halving the minimum charge as the fairest pricing structure. 

"It became obvious that the 5,000 gallon minimum was probably the best solution balancing the fixed costs that need to be generated and fairness concerning water conservation," she said.  "The 5,000 gallon minimum isn’t doing all that great a job of balancing revenue with consumption, but it’s doing a whole lot better than the current rates."

The Town of Lansing’s five largest users are Borg Warner, Cargill, the power plant, Finger Lakes Residential Center, and IMR Testing.  Under the new rate structure each of these would pay more, the largest annual rise estimated at $13,302 for Borg Warner, $2,537 for Cargill, and under $1,000 for the other three.  In the Village the largest users would also pay more, with Integrated Properties expected to pay $5,052.02 more, Pyramid $3300.91, The Ramada Inn an additional $2248.93, Meadows at Ithaca, LLC $2478.45 and Ithaca Apartments Management an additional $408.60.  Water officials say that approximately represents the amounts each of the big water users have been subsidized by low-use individual residential users.

"It might give them incentive to conserve," Rueckheim said.  "Our largest user across all the municipalities is Ithaca College.  They have already started.  They have gotten rid of water leaks and everybody is being asked to conserve.  There is a lot of incentive for them to do things to reduce their bills, which they should be doing anyway."

Before new water rates can go into effect the five constituent municipalities that make up the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission (Bolton Point) must unanimously approve the plan.  But water officials say they will not be asked to do so for another year.

"We haven’t exactly decided when this could happen, but they're looking at 2018," Foote said.

"This would have been a great year to put this into effect, but the Bolton point people are putting in the automated metering system," Woodard said.  "They were very reluctant to do that and this at the same time."

She added that more accurate data from the new meters will be folded into the data she has already analyzed before a final water rate is determined. 


Bolton Point's water rate is not the final amount customers are billed.  Each municipality tacks on an additional charge to cover the cost of maintaining water mains and other infrastructure in each municipality.  The Lansing Town Board voted last month to keep the Town portion of the water rate the same for another year.  He said the additional year before the new rate is officially proposed will give the Board time to reflect on how best to cover the Town's expenses under a new rate structure.

"Our O&M is predicated by usage," said Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne.  "If usage goes down we make up that difference -- maybe we will have to do a 9% increase."

LaVigne asked Water Commissioner and Town of Ithaca Supervisor Bill Goodman to attend the October 19 Lansing Town Board meeting to talk about proposed changes to the water commission's governing document, the Agreement for Municipal Cooperation.   The five constituent municipalities will also have to unanimously agree to the changes before it can be adopted.  Goodman says the changes represent an update to bring the agreement up to date.

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