A majority of the Chesapeake Beach Town Council approved the adoption of the annual budget for the municipality’s utility fund Thursday, June 20. Before the ordinance for the adoption was approved it was dramatically amended and tweaked in order to assure the fund will contain enough money to cover projected expenses.
The majority favored a uniform flat rate, which charges $11.28 per 1,000 gallons of water for sewer use per quarter and $4.28 per 1,000 gallons of water use per quarter. The uniform flat rate, which was proposed by councilmembers Jeffrey J. Krahling, Eric M. Reinhardt and Dr. Valerie Beaudin, is touted as a way to encourage water conservation within the municipality. It was introduced during a town council work session in May. It was favored over a fee and rate schedule presented the previous month by a consultant.
Mayor Bruce Wahl, who reminded attendees that the town could no longer service infrastructure with tap fees as it has been doing for several years, stated the council needed to adopt a rate schedule that would meet revenue targets.
Krahling, Reinhardt and Beaudin received the support of Council Vice President Patrick J. “Irish” Mahoney, who stated he would not support the fee and rate schedule presented by Wahl in the original ordinance draft. “The families in this town have austere budgets,” said Mahoney, who indicated the big businesses in Chesapeake Beach needed to pony up more for water and sewer. Mahoney was also critical of a hefty “membership fee” that was included in the mayor’s proposal. The veteran councilmember tempered his criticism by commending Wahl for “moving away” from the town’s previous tiered rate structure.
The two councilmembers who did not support the uniform flat rate—Robert E. Carpenter and Stewart B. Cumbo—both questioned the accuracy of the numbers presented in the plan. Carpenter and Cumbo both expressed skepticism about the plan’s effectiveness in bringing self-sufficiency to the town’s utility system.
“This is a very complicated issue, we’re certainly not going to make everybody happy,” said Cumbo, who chose to abstain when voting on the amended ordinance.
Carpenter called the campaign to drum up support for the uniform flat rate “embarrassing,” accusing the proponents of “riling up citizens with erroneous numbers.” He added that the uniform flat rate fails to take into account debt service. “We’re in trouble under this ‘fair rate proposal,’ ” said Carpenter.
“It’s clear what the sentiment is here, so be it,” said Wahl, prior to
