Cromwell Special Town Meeting Approves Sewer Budgets, Backs $10 Fee Increase
Town Council · Meeting of March 11, 2026
Cromwell special town meeting approves $10 annual sewer fee increase after rejecting a $5 compromise. Electors meeting Wednesday at Town Hall voted 14-0 to maintain the Cromwell Water Pollution Control Authority's recommended $10-per-year sewer usage fee increase, from $2.95 to $3.05 per unit, after defeating a competing motion for a $5 increase by a vote of 6-5 with three abstentions. Town Council member James Demetriades moderated the meeting and had backed the smaller increment, citing a $2.2 million fund balance and calling the $4 million Shunpike Road project, projected around 2030, "not a solid enough plan" to justify the full increase.
The assembly also voted 13-1 to shift $102,000 in capital equipment purchases — a submersible mixer and a tractor — out of the operating budget and into the reserve fund balance, bringing the final sewer usage fund appropriation to $2,762,409. The sewer assessment fund was trimmed by $5,000 to $34,100 after finance staff found no justification for an increase in the legal representation line. CWPCA chair Alice Kelly told electors the sewer fund pays the entire cost of the sewer department, including $1.8 million annually to regional treatment facilities, with no support from property taxes.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,034 words
Source: the Town Council meeting of March 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
CROMWELL — March 11, 2026 — Cromwell residents and electors voted at a special town meeting Wednesday to approve two sewer fund budgets totaling roughly $2.8 million, rejecting a compromise proposal to limit a sewer usage fee increase to $5 per year and instead backing the full $10 annual increase recommended by the town's water pollution control authority.
Town Council member James Demetriades served as moderator for the meeting, which drew enough electors to produce counted voice and hand votes on several contested motions. The final approved sewer usage fund budget stands at $2,762,409, down from the $2,864,409 figure originally cited in the legal notice, after the assembly also voted to shift $102,000 in capital purchases out of the operating budget and into the existing capital nonrecurring reserve fund balance.
The Full Story
The meeting, held at 6:50 p.m. in the Cromwell Town Hall Council Chambers, opened with Demetriades appointed moderator on a motion from resident Alice Kelly, who also chairs the Cromwell Water Pollution Control Authority, known locally as the CWPCA. Amanda was appointed town meeting secretary. Demetriades reminded attendees that any elector of the town could vote, invoking what he called the town's tradition of direct democracy.
Kelly introduced herself as CWPCA chair and offered context before debate began. She noted that the sewer usage fund, the larger of the two budget items, covers the full cost of the sewer department, including staffing, equipment, and roughly $1.8 million in payments to the Mattabassett Treatment Plant and the Metropolitan District Commission. The fund is not supported by town property taxes, she said.
The central dispute of the evening concerned whether to raise the quarterly sewer usage fee by $10 per year, as the sewer commission had approved at its March 5 meeting, or by a compromise $5. Town Finance Director Sharon — identified in the transcript only by first name — and sewer department Director of Finance Lou — also identified only by first name — had previously met with sewer administrator Dan Parisi and concluded there was no basis for any increase, given the fund's $2.2 million-plus fund balance. That consensus apparently was not conveyed to the CWPCA before its public hearing.
"At the end of that conversation, I think the three of us were in a consensus that there was no reason to raise the rate from 295 to 305. And then we were surprised ourselves to learn that, in fact, they were proposing to raise it." [00:22:54] — Town Finance Director Sharon
Demetriades floated a $5 compromise, noting the fund's healthy reserve and a known $1.3 million upcoming sewer project on Evergreen Road. He added that a $4 million Shunpike Road sewer project was projected for around 2030 or 2031. The $5 motion received a second from Council member Jack Henehan but failed 6-5 with three abstentions.
Town Council member Al Waters then moved to approve the sewer usage fund as recommended by the sewer commission, including the full $10 increase. The motion was amended to explicitly reflect the $10 figure. That vote carried 14-0 with no abstentions. A separate motion, made by Council member Jamin DeProto and seconded by Waters, to redirect the $102,000 capital purchase line — covering a submersible mixer and a John Deere tractor — from the operating budget to the capital nonrecurring reserve fund balance, passed 13-1 with one abstention. The final sewer usage fund appropriation of $2,762,409 then passed 13-1 with one abstention.
On the sewer assessment fund, the finance director recommended reducing the legal representation line from the $15,000 approved by the sewer commission to $10,000, a $5,000 reduction that brought the total assessment fund figure down from $39,100 to $34,100. That reduction passed 13-0 with two abstentions. The final $34,100 sewer assessment fund appropriation then passed 13-0 with two abstentions.
Resident John Whitney, of 76 Nuxville Road, spoke during deliberations on the fee increase, arguing that a modest annual increment was preferable to a future lump-sum special assessment.
"I personally would rather see the $10 a year increment, especially I pay two sewer bills, than to get hit with $30 or $40 a year increase on sewer. So that's my two cents." [00:38:14] — John Whitney, Cromwell resident
Why It Matters
Cromwell sewer users will see their annual usage fee rise by $10, bringing the rate from $2.95 to $3.05 per unit. The increase comes as the CWPCA faces at least two significant capital projects: a $1.3 million Evergreen Road sewer line replacement expected within roughly a year and a half, and an estimated $4 million Shunpike Road project projected for around 2030 or 2031. The town's fund balance currently sits above $2.2 million. Finance staff and elected officials raised concerns Wednesday that the budget process between town staff, the sewer administrator, and the CWPCA broke down this cycle, with recommendations not reaching the commission before its public hearing. Demetriades said that process needs to be clarified before the next budget cycle.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Appoint James Demetriades as moderator of the special town meeting Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Appoint Amanda as town meeting secretary Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Increase sewer usage fee by $5 per year (compromise proposal) and approve sewer usage fund at $2,813,409 Tally: For: 5, Against: 6, Abstain: 3, Total: 14
- Vote: Increase sewer usage fee by $10 per year as recommended by the sewer commission Tally: For: 14, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 14
- Vote: Redirect $102,000 capital purchase line (submersible mixer and tractor) from sewer usage operating budget to capital nonrecurring reserve fund balance Tally: For: 13, Against: 1, Abstain: 1, Total: 15
- Vote: Approve sewer usage fund appropriation at $2,762,409 Tally: For: 13, Against: 1, Abstain: 1, Total: 15
- Vote: Amend sewer assessment fund from $39,100 to $34,100 (reduce legal representation line by $5,000) Tally: For: 13, Against: 0, Abstain: 2, Total: 15
- Vote: Approve sewer assessment fund appropriation at $34,100 Tally: For: 13, Against: 0, Abstain: 2, Total: 15
- Vote: Adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Cromwell's community access TV: Town Council (Special Town Meeting — Budget Workshop) meeting, March 11, 2026