Petersburgh Town Board Discusses Water District Finances

by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Town Board held a meeting on Tuesday, January 17, to discuss the finances of the Water District. Only four citizens attended the meeting, along with Supervisor Krahforst, Councilmen Snyder and Goodermote and Town Clerk Callie Crisp.
The problem currently is that the District is in deficit by about $5,000. Although a statement of monthly income against average monthly expenses presented by the Town Bookkeeper showed a surplus of $300 a month, overall expenses have been outpacing income over the last two years because of very high repair costs.
[private]There was some discussion of ways to keep repair costs down. On the revenue side, Supervisor Krahforst suggested that since the Fire Department and the Highway Department use the water for townwide services, it might be fair to ask them to contribute a small amount on an annual basis towards maintaining the infrastructure.
The District currently pays about $10,000 per year on the long term bond from when the system was built, and that bond will be paid off in 2024, so there are 12 years more of payments. But the interest cost will drop as the bond is paid off, so those payments will go down over time. At the moment it drops by about $300 per year, but it will drop faster as the bond gets closer to being paid off.
Although those present got a clearer idea of how the District’s finances work, it was clear that to get the budget under control it would take a sustained effort on several fronts. Supervisor Krahforst said he felt a committee is needed to keep a close eye on the operations of the Water District and make recommendations for improvements. Although no one immediately stepped forward among the small group in attendance, there was some hope that a small committee could be recruited.[/private]