There will be a Special Meeting of the Onset Fire District Wednesday evening, and depending on what voters decide, water rates in Onset could go up again.

Two proposals—one that would rescind an article passed last year to begin funding Other Post-Employment Benefits” (OPEB) to retired Water Department workers, and another that would decrease employees' medical benefits—were finalized October 14 and will be voted on by Onset Fire District residents at the Special Meeting.

Earlier this month, the Onset Water Commissioners voted to raise water rates by 19 percent to allow revenues to cover costs after experiencing a shortfall for the previous three years.

Peter Murphy, the most recently elected commissioner of the Onset Water Department, said earlier this month that if the two cost-cutting measures are not approved at the Special Meeting, rates may need to go up again.

Murphy also said that, last year, the Water Commissioners voted to hire a third full-time employee for the Water Department but, after a meeting with the Fire District's Prudential Committee, they were advised to only hire the employee part-time.

Since then, the position has remained a part-time position. Murphy said that, recently, a group of citizens and a majority of the Prudential Committee voiced their opinion that there is no need for a third laborer. He said a petition is being circulated to cut the roughly $50,000 budgeted for the full-time job, essentially eliminating the position. That would reduce the Water Department’s payroll from $337,000 to $287,000.

That petition, along with two other changes proposed by the Onset Fire Department, will be presented at the Special Meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Dudley Brown VFW Post on Gibbs Ball Park Road.

According to Kleuber, another item on the agenda will be funding the contract negotiated between the district and recently unionized Onset Fire Department full-time employees. The other would disband a previously existing exploratory committee in order to formulate a new committee.