Home Care In Watertown, CT

WATERTOWN, CT (WFSB) - Voters in Watertown headed to the polls Tuesday to decide how the town should repay more than $30 million in unpaid water and sewer fees owed to the City of Waterbury.

The town’s registrars said that the referendum passed by about 70%.

The town estimates that the average family that uses 50,000 gallons of water will see about a $300 increase per year in their water and sewer bills.

“I know in my neighborhood they want to get it over with but I don’t think that way,” said Dawn Rourk.

“I’m on the fence about whether it’s good or bad,” said Daniel Gough.

The debt stemmed from a years-long legal dispute between the two municipalities.

In 2018, Waterbury increased its water and sewer rates for customers outside the city, including Watertown.

Rather than accept the new rates, Watertown officials challenged the increase in court and continued paying the lower, previous rates.

A judge ultimately sided with Waterbury, and now Watertown must pay back the difference, a total that reached $34 million.

Tuesday’s vote aimed to determine whether or not residents were willing to pay higher water and sewer rates to cover the debt.

“First of all we shouldn’t be in this position to begin with,” continued Rourk.

About 2,900 residents voted at four polling locations across town. More than 2,000 voted yes to the referendum.

“Way too much. Way too much. I mean it’s expensive enough to survive here and one more increase isn’t going to help anyone,” said Rourk.

Channel 3 reached out to the town manager for comment and an exact timeline on when bills will go up but did not hear back.

Stay with Channel 3 Eyewitness News for updates and election results.

The Town of Watertown owes the City of Waterbury at least $30 million in unpaid water and sewage bills. That’s the result of a years-long legal battle between the two entities.

The legal dispute began in 2018 after Waterbury raised the sewer and water rates for Watertown and the other towns they supply to. Watertown has argued they were in the right to negotiate that rate hike, and according to court documents, they instead continued charging their residents the lower rate.

The court decided Waterbury acted within their rights by raising the prices years ago. Now, the court has ordered Watertown to pay Waterbury back.

The Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed a lower court’s decision this summer, but Watertown appealed it. This week, the Connecticut Supreme Court denied that appeal.

“The court emphasized that this case did not involve individual property owners refusing to pay their bills but rather a conscious decision by the Town of Watertown to underpay the rates set by Waterbury for all users within its borders after June 30, 2018,” Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said in June, after the Appellate Court affirmed their decision.

In response to the court's decision, Watertown Town Manager Mark Raimo said the town is disappointed, but respects the outcome of the case.

“It continues to believe its position on Waterbury’s water and sewer rates was consistent with Connecticut law,” Raimo said.

On Tuesday, Watertown residents will be deciding on a $30 million bond vote applied to water and sewer, which would pay Waterbury back per the court’s order.

“The referendum on Tuesday is important because the Town now faces a final, enforceable obligation that must be satisfied. The referendum would authorize bond financing, which—if approved and issued—could replace the currently accruing judgment interest with a lower bond interest rate, thereby reducing ongoing interest accrual,” Raimo said.

“If bonding reduces interest costs, the Town will then evaluate the most responsible next steps to protect ratepayers and ensure fair, sustainable utility services," he continued.

If passed, Watertown data shows price increases would vary by water consumption. According to town documents, the average household using 50,000 gallons of water a year would add on roughly $294.50 a year to their water bill.

Town data shows that if the vote gets turned down, the $30 million will still need to be paid and the debt would accumulate interest at $4.3 million a year.

"They made these decisions on their own so why should we be punished?” Maria Poveromo, a Watertown resident, asked. “This is a bad situation. It’s really not fair.”

Poveromo tells us on top of the rising costs of seemingly everything else, this rate hike is unwelcome, and it makes her worry for the future of people looking to buy homes in the area.

“I’m very upset and afraid I might not be able to continue owning my home,” she said.

Others said they'd rather approve Tuesday’s bond over watching the debt grow.

"It's a catch-22. Everybody's back is against the wall,” Edna Brewer, of Watertown, said. “It's going to have to be fixed anyway, at the end of the day."

"It's only fair. That's how I look at it. It's been a long time coming,” another Watertown resident, who didn’t want to share her name, said.

In a statement to NBC Connecticut, Pernerewski said he is thankful the Supreme Court upheld the decision of Connecticut’s Appellate and Superior courts in determining that Waterbury acted reasonably and lawfully.

“We look forward to a final resolution of the unpaid bills in the near future so we may all move forward,” he said.

WATERTOWN — The Connecticut Supreme Court has denied the town's final legal appeal in a long-running dispute with Waterbury over sewer and water charges, affirming a lower court's $18.8 million judgment.

The announcement comes just days before Watertown voters decide on borrowing $30 million to pay for it.

The court’s order Tuesday denied Watertown’s petition for certification to appeal a May 2025 Appellate Court decision, which unanimously upheld a Superior Court ruling that the town owed $18.8 million in unpaid sewer and water treatment fees to Waterbury. With post-judgment interest totaling 26% annually, the town’s obligation had grown to roughly $34 million.

The decision ends years of litigation between the two municipalities.

Watertown had argued that Waterbury, as its sole provider, was required under a 1921 state law to negotiate water and sewer rates with the town, an argument the courts consistently rejected. The Appellate Court previously found that Waterbury’s rates were “reasonable and equitable” under state law.

In a statement released after the ruling, the Town of Watertown said it was “disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to review the case,” but maintained that its position on the water and sewer rates “was consistent with Connecticut law.”

The town said it respects the decision and will now focus on minimizing the financial impact on Water and Sewer Authority rate payers.

The town also said it remains committed to ensuring “fair and sustainable utility services” and would “explore all available avenues to protect rate payers moving forward.”

Waterbury officials, meanwhile, said the ruling affirms what lower courts had already made clear.

“We are grateful that the state Supreme Court has in effect upheld the decisions of a unanimous Appellate Court and the Superior Court in determining that Waterbury acted reasonably and lawfully in assessing water and sewer rates for Watertown, ending years of litigation,” said Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr.

“We look forward to a final resolution of the unpaid bills in the near future so we may all move forward.”

Residents asked to approve $30 million bond

To address the judgment, Watertown is asking voters to approve a $30 million bond in a town-wide referendum scheduled for Tuesday. The bond would be repaid through surcharges on Water and Sewer Authority system customers, not general property taxes, and would allow the town to replace the court-imposed 26% interest rate with a much lower market rate, currently estimated at 4.25%.

According to town estimates, an average household using 50,000 gallons per year would pay nearly $300 more annually. High-usage customers, including businesses, could see substantially higher increases. The Watertown Fire District is expected to contribute about $6 million of the total, with the remaining $24 million to be repaid by WSA users over 20 years.

While town officials say the plan is the best path forward, Monday night’s public hearing gave residents one final chance to speak out before the vote, and many didn’t hold back. Several called for greater transparency and questioned how the town’s legal and financial strategy had allowed the problem to grow so large. Others shared how the surcharges and rate hikes could affect them personally.

Resident Francis Popilowski called the situation “disgusting” and said the town had failed to give people enough time and information before asking them to make such a major decision.

Though the bond would be repaid only by WSA customers, Town Manager Mark Raimo acknowledged the broader impact, "This is not just a WSA problem. This is a Watertown problem.”

Town officials have warned that if the sewer bond fails, the town will still be responsible for the full $30 million judgment, and interest will continue to compound at the higher rate. That could require emergency borrowing or push the town to cover the costs through the general fund — affecting all taxpayers. A second referendum likely couldn’t be held until late fall, after the November elections, potentially increasing the financial impact.

Next Tuesday’s ballot will also include a separate, unrelated $10 million bond proposal for road repairs. That bond would be repaid through the town’s general fund without raising taxes, by layering new debt as old bonds expire. Both questions will appear separately and can pass or fail independently.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Absentee ballots are available through the Town Clerk’s Office.

WATERTOWN — Town residents and businesses receiving public water and sewer service from Waterbury will start paying the price for the town's costly decision in 2018 not to pay the full rates the city started charging then.

The Water and Sewer Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved general increases of 40% in quarterly water rates and 50% in quarterly sewer rates to reflect the full cost of what the city charges the town.

The quarterly water rate is increasing from $3.28 per 1,000 gallons to $4.59 and the quarterly sewer rate is rising from $4.06 per 1,000 gallons to $6.09. The newly approved rates approximate the current Waterbury rates.

Approximately 4,500 properties in Watertown receive water and sewer services from the city, including some town-owned buildings and properties.

Waterbury provided water and sewer service to some Watertown properties at contracted rates for decades until the city and town were unable to negotiate new rates after the last five-year contract expired in July 2018.

When Waterbury started billing at higher rates, Watertown continued to pay the previously contracted rates. After five months, the city filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court in Waterbury to collect the full rates. The city won an $18.8 million judgment in 2023. The town appealed and a three-judge panel of the state Appellate Court upheld the judgment in a June ruling. By then, the town's debt to the city had grown to $34.9 million.

Town officials decided to start paying the full water and sewer rates to avoid interest charges continuing to accumulate at 1.5% a month, or 18% a year. The interest is now accumulating at about $355,000 a month, or $4.3 million a year, according to town figures.

The Water and Sewer Commission voted July 30 to recommend the general increases in the water and sewer rates. Commission members approved the rate increases following an hour-long hearing Wednesday. In addition, the commission unanimously approved a 200% increase in water rates to $9.84 for the Westgate service zone.

The steep Westgate increase is the result of a mix-up that came to light following the appellate court ruling. The town provides water and sewer services to 99 homes in the Westgate zone, but the Watertown Fire District supplies the water and charges the town higher rates than its residential rate for district customers. .

While the fire district had been billing the town at the higher residential rate, town officials had been charging the Westgate customers the same rate that other town customers had been paying. The billing discrepancy was discovered when the town and fire district sought to apportion the costs of the Waterbury judgment between their respective water systems.

There will be a Sept. 16 referendum on a proposed $34 million bond issue to pay off outstanding water and sewer charges owed to Waterbury to resolve the seven-year billing dispute.

Town officials intend to authorize up to $30 million in borrowing based on a recent town analysis following an initial $5 million payment to Waterbury. The actual borrowing costs are now projected to be $24 million because the Watertown Fire District is expected to contribute $6 million to retiring the debt to Waterbury.

If the referendum passes, the town initially plans to issue short-term bond anticipation notes to repay Waterbury. The repayment of the principal owed to the city would begin in the 2027 fiscal year that starts next July 1, according to town officials. If interest rates decline in the future, the town would have the opportunity to refinance the bonds to reduce the overall repayment costs.

Town officials estimated the repayment of the bond issue would cost an average household using 50,000 gallons of water a year an additional $294.50 per year to its water bill on top of normal usage.

If the bond issue fails, according to town officials, then the town would have to consider such other alternatives as higher water and sewer rates spread across all rate payers, special assessments, or the sale of the town's water works and sewer system. Town officials also said a rejection of the ballot question would not result in the city placing liens against individual properties related to the water and sewer debt.

The town also has petitioned the state Supreme Court to review the appellate court decision upholding the trial court's judgment for Waterbury, and the petition remained pending Friday. The city is opposing the request.

WATERTOWN — United Methodist Church was struggling in 2023 with a dwindling congregation and the loss of its minister. The church was not alone.

A dramatic drop in attendance at services nationwide has spurred houses of worship across many faiths to close in increasing numbers, according to churchleadership.org.

“At one point, we were down to about 25 people in the church,” said Donna Sullivan, a longtime congregant in Watertown. “The sanctuary will hold 300 people.”

The last four ministers at United Methodist Church served an average of 1.75 years apiece between 2014 and 2023, according to umdata.org. By contrast, the previous six ministers served an average of 6.83 years since 1962.

“They were talking about shutting the church down,” Sullivan said. “We had no minister. We had to do something.”

To keep as many active congregants as possible, Sullivan and other members recruited lay preachers and a musical duo, but they still had to pay the bills. The 125-year-old church building on Main Street had to be maintained and heated, as did the 12-room parsonage next door, built originally as a private residence in 1895 by industrialist Buell Heminway.

“We started by doing an outdoor tag sale at the parsonage and we got a lot of donations,” Sullivan said. “And then my sister, Laura Brandt, said, ‘Why don’t we bring some items inside, in the kitchen?’”

Sullivan was skeptical at first, but because they had no minister, no one was living in the parsonage. Why not use it?

They started small, just using the kitchen to display tag sale items. They advertised on social media and word of mouth. Soon, all 12 rooms of the parsonage, known as Wesley Hall, became a showcase for a thrift shop called Main Street Boutique.

Donations have poured in from neighboring towns as well as Watertown, Sullivan noted, and they are many and varied. The kitchen of the parsonage features kitchen items, including coffeemakers and can openers, even a dehydrator. In the adjoining dining room are glassware, china and related items. A sign on a table has sale items priced “3 for $1.”

Other rooms are dedicated to menswear, womenswear, children’s clothing, toys, books, vinyl records, jewelry, linens and antiques.

On Saturdays, Jerry Pia and his wife, Teddi Pia, sing and play music in the dining room for shoppers. Jerry also is the church's music director, and Teddi is in the choir.

Pat Bessette, one of many volunteers in the boutique, said, “The boutique was started as a way to support the church financially. It has become so much more than that. When the boutique is open for business and the shoppers are looking for their treasures, we see lots of smiles. The boutique is not only a place to shop, but a place to feel welcomed. It is a house filled with laughter, great communication and a sense of community. The creation of the boutique has been a blessing to so many people in so many ways.”

In July, a new minister, the Rev. Jane H. Kim, arrived. She is shared with Waterbury United Methodist Church, and her residence is in Waterbury. The Watertown parsonage, therefore, can continue to house the many items at Main Street Boutique, Sullivan said.

“I believe the boutique will continue, especially if/when the church grows,” she wrote in an email. “With a larger congregation, it should bring in more volunteers.”

Other volunteers include Rick Brandt, Karen Bronson, Nancy Cunningham, Paula Labonte, Chris Montambault, Rose Norton, Carol Prapp, Lisa Reardon and Sue Woodward.

Main Street Boutique is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month in April through December, and is at Wesley Hall, 329 Main St., next to the church.