Plan for $3 million water project is unrealistic

To The Daily Sun,

While attending the City Council meeting in Franklin recently I was surprised to learn that less than 3,000 customers use city water. So, that means that the loan/grant in the amount of $3,605,230 that the City is requesting from the State of NH will be paid by those customers by an additional $.67 water commodity charge. This translates, according to the City, to an increase of $61.00 per year for a family of four on their water bill. This also means that my water bill for a family of two, together with all of my neighbors in our 55+ community, will increase by $30.00 per year.

There are 97 homes in our community, all occupied by people on fixed incomes. First the property assessment saw our tax bills soar on manufactured homes that sit on land and foundations we do not own. Now the water goes up yet again. Will the sewer charge increase soon? More than likely.

There was some discussion at the meeting about increasing the water charge by half, not the entire $.67; however, without this entire increase, the City could not meet the loan payment. How can the City take out a loan for over 3 million dollars and expect less than 3,000 customers to foot the bill?

Helen Lacroix

Franklin