Brockport village leaders pull plug on water commission

The Water Commission, as the Village of Brockport has known it since almost 1914, will be disbanded.

The five member board costs the village taxpayers approximately $11,750 annually. The chairman receives an annual stipend of $2,421 while the other four members earn $2,332 apiece.

Mayor Mort Wexler said a new board, answerable to the village trustees, will be formed that will be smaller in scope and less costly to taxpayers. "They will also be reportable to us, as a board, and we will have the final say on any decisions regarding water - we don't have that now," he said.

Trustee David Wagenhauser said some of the problems that arose from the Water Commission was that it has lost money every year since 1997. Also, he said, the village buys water from Monroe County Water Authority the same as its neighbor, the Town of Sweden, and the village residents pay about $50 more annually - partially due to the stipends paid by the commission members.

"The water fund is down; the rates are up," Wagenhauser said in his agreement with the decision to disband the commission. "This year, though, we are running about even."

Some of the reasons for the deficit, Wagenhauser said, was because there were leaks in the pipes and the water was just running into the ground.

"If we continue to pay salaries to the board, we cut into money that could be used to help decrease rates or purchase equipment," Wexler said.

The resolution to disband the present board of water commissioners was unanimously approved. Village officials said they planned to speak with members and would likely retain one or two who would remain on a newly formed board that would report to the village trustees.