Eastham Select Board approves water fee hike, new $1,000 connection fee

EASTHAM — March 16, 2026 — Eastham Select Board approves water fee increases and clears broad Town Meeting warrant. Sitting first as the Board of Water Commissioners, the board unanimously approved a 2 percent quarterly water rate increase effective August 2026, a meter fee jump from $163 to $46.43 reflecting new Camstrap meters and software costs, and a new $1,000 one-time connection fee for properties not yet on the municipal system, effective January 1, 2027 — with DPW Director John Ruffley calling the fee a way to recover capital costs from residents who "avoid paying into capital" by delaying hookup. As the Select Board, members voted to recommend more than a dozen Town Meeting warrant articles, including companion articles restructuring the town's 3 percent Community Preservation Act surcharge — reducing it to 1.75 percent while creating a new 1.25 percent municipal water infrastructure surcharge to fund roughly $600,000 per year in wastewater debt service. A proposal to limit residential fertilizer use (Article 6B) failed to win a board recommendation on a 4-1 vote, with members citing enforceability concerns, though it remains on the warrant with amended title language. The board deferred action on four operating budget enhancements — covering council on aging staff, recreation staff, online permitting, and preschool tuition — to a March 23 joint budget hearing with the Finance Committee, where those items may be placed before voters as separate Proposition 2½ override questions on the May 20 ballot.