The Onset Fire District Board of Water Commissioners approved a 26% rate increase during its Thursday, May 19 meeting.

The Commissioners voted 2-0-1 to approve the increase. Newly-elected Commissioner Brenda Eckstrom abstained from voting.

Water District Superintendent Paul Bokowski explained that with the increase, users will pay .83 cents per day for water, up from .55 cents per day.

“I know you think of 26%, but when you break it down it’s not that much of an increase,” Bokowski said.

On May 16, Onset Fire District voters approved several financial housekeeping articles during the district's annual meeting, paving the way for the increase to water rates. Since the rate increase itself was not an article on the warrant, a final vote by the Water Commissioners was needed to adjust the rate.

“We have to raise our income and the only way to do that is through raising the rates,” Board of Water Commissioners clerk Brian O'Hearne said. “It comes out to .83 cents a day. How much is cable? You can live without that. You can’t live without water.”

On May 4, the Commissioners initially a proposed a 20% rate increase. During a public hearing on May 11 that estimate increased to 25.5%.

Commissioners said the 26% increase would cover $17,000 needed to hire temporary or seasonal help to monitor water meters more closely and would cover the increasing costs of employee health insurance and retirement funding.

All of the operating costs related to the Onset Water Department are financed by the sale of water. The District collects its money from approximately 3,000 metered homes.

While the income from the meters has remained the same for years, the district’s expenditures have continued to increase, according to O’Hearne. He said the rates are likely to increase by an additional 5% in fiscal year 2013 to cover the cost of employee health insurance and retirement.

“Even though we have a projected budget for fiscal year 2013, we can enact some cost-cutting methods to maintain” the current rate, O’Hearne said.

O’Hearne said the Commissioners and the Prudential Committee will be working to find a new insurance policy or provider in upcoming months to lessen the cost to the District. He added the new state law requiring health insurance coverage be expanded to include employees' children who are under age 26 and are still in school will cost the District upwards of $16,000 in 2012.

The last time the District increased water rates was in 2006.