Wayland Board Raises Transfer Station Mattress Fee, Eyes Significant Water Rate Hikes

WAYLAND — June 16, 2026 — Wayland's Board of Public Works moved toward significant FY27 water rate increases and voted unanimously to raise the transfer station mattress disposal fee to $80. Working through a financial model presented by consultant Matt Abrahams of The Abrahams Group, the board examined a scenario that would raise Tier 1 water rates to $8 per unit, Tier 2 to $11.50, Tier 3 to $14, and Tier 4 to $20, with the quarterly fixed base charge rising from $15 to $25 — increases driven primarily by debt service growth and ongoing emergency purchases from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which have cost roughly $310,000 in FY26 alone. DPW Director Tom Holder warned that equipment failures are accelerating — citing a booster-station switch failure the day of the meeting — and said he would "plan on using MWRA water a number of times in FY27." Member Judy Ling pushed for a $50,000 contingency line as a hedge, while Chair Michael Wegerbauer cautioned against stacking conservative assumptions that would force larger rate increases on fixed-income residents. Select Board liaison Carol Martin raised a procedural question about whether rates generating revenue above the $6.246 million Town Meeting-approved figure require additional authorization, a question the board asked its finance director to resolve before the June 23 public rate-setting hearing. The board also formally authorized members Michael Spelman and Jonathan Storer to sign cemetery deeds on the board's behalf, and previewed a draft memo to the Select Board warning that the transfer station enterprise fund faces a projected $131,000 loss in FY27 — its first year carrying indirect costs.