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.