High user rates and lack of transparency a grave concern

Dear Editor:

The Purcellville Town Council majority has passed the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, after holding two budget meetings. I did not support this budget. The budget includes rate increases for water and sewer of 16% and 18% respectively. Just two years ago, however, Stantec, the town’s utility rate consultant, recommended increases of 5% for water and 7% for sewer – and indicated the same annual rate increases would keep the Utility Funds solvent until our utility debt ends in 2040.

The town’s FY25 budget includes a 9% increase in General Fund expenditures The average pay increase for town employees is budgeted for 6.3%, consisting of a 3.2% cost of living increase, and an additional 3.1% for merit-based salary increases. 

Overall compensation in the General Fund increased 12% over the current fiscal year, due to adjustments for market conditions, promotions, and time in grade. According to the Federal government the cost of living increased by 3.5% for the year ending March 31, 2024.

This town manager, like his predecessors, pointed to pay scales in nearby cities as the reason to increase employee pay by far more than the increase in cost of living. This assumes that the only competition for town employee jobs is in other municipalities.

The Kuhn annexation application is 117- acres with over 1.2 million sq.ft. of industrial. The town does not have enough treated water for this annexation. Budgeted is $271,000 for the Short Hill Wells Water Treatment Plant. This project would coincidentally supply nearly the exact amount of treated water needed for this proposal. This is just the beginning of the costs to the town residents if this annexation is approved.

The FY25 Fiscal Plan also has $2.5 million, which will add more debt burden to the citizens of this town on top of nearly $50 million debt inherited from the Lazaro administration. This is allocated for PFAS, which are pollutants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, Purcellville is not on the list of jurisdictions that need to treat PFAS and the mandate to treat it doesn’t go into effect until 2029.

The current council majority is not transparent with the public vis-à-vis meeting with the development community. Just before the Kuhn annexation proposal was filed with the town, certain council members along with town administration met with the developer and his team out of public view to discuss his proposal. Meetings with any developer to discuss a project should be done in a public meeting.

Citizens of Purcellville should be concerned about the dramatic rise in their utility rates. It hurts the poorest of our community. Meeting with developers privately is unacceptable – do it in a public meeting!

Chris Bertaut
Town Council Member