Above photo: Windham town board members were recently visited by professionals from the Greene County Department of Public Health including (standing, left to right) director Laura Churchill, community health worker Iciani Figueroa and deputy director Kerry Miller.
WINDHAM - Nobody makes water in Windham so somebody has to pay to provide it and government leaders are partially increasing that cost.
Town board members, at a meeting last week, passed a resolution raising the price for some water district users for reasons they say are overdue and unavoidable.
“We need to adjust the rates so we can stay in business,” town supervisor Thomas Hoyt said in a phone interview.
“No adjustments have been made in eight years. Meanwhile, the expense of chemicals for treatment have gone up, and our electric bills have gone up and up,” Hoyt said.
Folks who don’t have water meters are taking the biggest hit, according to the resolution approved by council members, last Wednesday evening, in their dual roles as water district overseers.
“The Town of Windham has undertaken a program of large investments to improve and expand the municipal water system,” the resolution states.
“Those who use the resources of the water system should pay based on their usage and the benefits they receive,” the resolution states.
Henceforth, unmetered water accounts will go up by 15 percent, based on a per-fixture formula including everything - such as bathrooms, laundry tubs, washing machines, dishwashers, etc. - AND the kitchen sink.
A new fee has been set for out-of-district consumers. They will have a $200 consumption charge for each six-month billing cycle, mirroring the town’s charges for wastewater system, out-of-district users.
The expense for lowest-use, metered customers will be staying the same, getting charged a flat rate of $81.48 for tapping between 1 to 12,500 gallons during any six-month span.
Customers running between 12,500 to 37,500 gallons will remain locked at .0085 more per gallon. Extra charges for use of 37,500 gallons and above remain at 0094 per gallon - each in addition to the $81.48 flat fee.
For usage exceeding 75,000 gallons for metered accounts, the expense shall leap 8 percent from the current rate, the resolution states.
Billing occurs every six months, in January and July. The January, 2026, invoices, already sent out, contain no hike.
Officials accessed available Fund Balance on a onetime basis to offset budget upsurging and give customers time to adapt.
There are currently 333 metered and 32 non-metered accounts within the water district, with government officials encouraging meters.
Windham undertook a multi-million dollar inter-connection project over the past decade, modernizing century-old pipelines while linking systems in and between the hamlets of Hensonvile and Windham.
And backup contingencies have been established between the town and the local ski slope. “We aren’t increasing the rates to make a profit or distribute the money elsewhere,” Hoyt said.
“Money raised through the water district stays in the water district. It’s all a formula to keep the lights on,” Hoyt said.
In other matters:
—Council members were visited by staffers from the Greene County Department of Public Heath who have been reaching out to all municipalities, informing citizens about agency programs.
Particularly noteworthy is the county’s Mobile Health Van which “brings important health services to towns and neighborhoods,” said agency director Laura Churchill.
“Some people have a hard time getting to health care because of long travel distances, limited transportation, cost or busy schedules,” said Churchill who was joined by deputy director Kerry Miller and Iciani Figueroa, a community health worker.
“We bring services closer to where people live,” Churchill said, firing up the Health Van to offer a multitude of services.
Those services include basic health checkups and wellness screenings, vaccines and immunization outreach and blood pressure checks.
Other services include sexual and reproductive health education, referrals to primary care, and mental/behavioral health and specialty care.
“We serve the community with extra focus on residents who may face barriers to care including seniors, families with limited income, rural residents and people uninsured or underinsured,” Churchill said.
The department can be contacted through several means; by visiting the website at greenecountyny.gov/deparrtments/public-health or at facebook.com/GreeneNYHealth.
For more information call (518) 719-3600 during regular business hours or the After Hours Emergency line at (518) 622-3344 and ask for the Public Health on-call supervisor.