The yearly fee charged to town sewer users will increase by $12, bringing the rate up to $596 per year. The Board of Selectmen set the sewer rate Tuesday, a required procedure so the town can set its tax rate.

An increase to the sewer budget, which necessitated the rate change, was approved by Town Meeting in October. The increase was a result of staffing changes and decreasing revenues in the Sewer Department.

Indicating that previous budgets seemed to be set on a portion of what it costs to operate the treatment plant, Guy Campinha, director of the Water Pollution Control Facility, vowed to get a handle on total operating costs, and said he is investigating ways to save money.

Campinha said he is considering decreasing the per-gallon fees charged to businesses that dispose of waste, such as grease from restaurants, at the plant, because the town is currently losing money to neighboring towns that charge less. He is also looking for better rates on the chemicals used for water treatment.

Campinha noted that the sewer plant is funded from an "enterprise fund," meant to operate solely on the fees paid by sewer users. "I treat it as a business," he said, adding that he wanted be sure that, in the future, "if there is a rate increase, then we've done everything we can not to have one."

Campinha was hired in September. The town had been without a sewer plant director since Water Pollution Control Facility Superintendent David Simmons was laid off in April due to budgetary concerns.