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By LOU HATTER
Rappahannock New* Staff Writer
With his report to Council that the Town of Washington has $1,000 in each of its savings, checking and water authority accounts, Treasurer Brad Fisher added that water problems continue to bleed the town’s funds.
“Leaks are running about $700 a month in repairs,” he told Council.
Total water usage by the town’s residents last month was 459,670 gallons, just above the monthly average of457,173 gallons.
No figures were available for the amount of water pumped during March since the town’s reservoir is, at this time, being supplied completely by the spring. Mr. Fisher said there’s no way to gauge the actual amount delivered. “I can only assume that the 200,000 gallon per month leak is still there.”
“That’s where it stands,” replied Mayor Dean Morehouse. “Do you want to address the water rates tonight?” he asked rhetorically; adding, “We are going to address them!”
Mr. Fisher told Council that he had figures on the breakdown of a $150,000 loan at five percent interest, which would be used for capital improvements on the town’s water system.
Paid back over a 25-year period, the 300 payments would run $876.89 per month, or $7.20 for each of the town’s 122 water customers.
If the loan were stretched to thirty years, “which I’m not even sure we can do,” Mr. Fisher added, payments would run slightly less. Each of the 360 monthly payments would be $805.23, which averages out to $6.60 for each water customer.
Mr. Fisher emphasized that those figures were only preliminary, drawn up solely for the purpose of giving members of Council some idea of what the cost of a loan would be.
On the subject of water rates, he said that “although our rates are high when compared to the state and the nation, they are not out of line with those charged by.other small utilities.”
Returning to the town’s revenue problems, Mr. Fisher said, “It takes a considerable amount of money to run a town . . . these are fairly average expenses. Between the town and the water authority, the combined town budget is about $38,000.
“That’s more than $3,000 a month - without leak fixing.”
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