JAY – North Jay water customers can breathe a sigh of relief. At least temporarily.

North Jay Water District officials decided to postpone a rate hike until April 1.

That way the first bill to reflect the more than 33 percent increase would be sent out in July.

The postponement is in response to concerns from the town and people attending a hearing on the increase this week, district Superintendent Richard Jackson said.

Town Manager Ruth Marden said both the Water District Trustees and Jackson were extremely acceptable to people’s concerns.

Marden said it’s obvious that the North Jay district needs a rate hike but the town doesn’t have the funds in this year’s budget.

Voters only approved enough money at the April town meeting referendum to pay a year of existing rental rates for the 46 public fire hydrants in the North Jay area, Marden said.

The district owns and operates the hydrants and the town rents them annually. The rental fee for fire protection service under the new rate structure would be $12,772 each quarter or $51,088, which reflects a 36.9 percent increase.

Jackson said some senior citizens, living on fixed incomes, also voiced concerns about the increase during the winter months. They hadn’t figured in a water increase in their budgets, Jackson said.

Delaying the rate increase to April works better for customers, Jackson said.

Marden said the town has offered to prepay its budgeted April payment during the winter at the existing rate, if the district has a cash flow problem or too many freeze-ups or other emergencies.

The district hasn’t had a rate increase since 1995, Jackson said, and it is needed to cover rising operating costs, labor costs, procedural changes in mandated water testing and continued upgrading of the system.

Jackson said he has previously applied for grants to offset costs to customers, but they have been rejected because Jay residents’ income is too much.

The district also went ahead with a water system upgrade on Old Jay Road while the town was doing road improvements, Jackson said, instead of waiting until after the town finished the work.

Jackson said it is “probably the first project” he has ever done that the rate hike was requested after the work was completed.

Among the proposed increases are the base water rate for the first 1,000 cubic feet of water, or about 7,500 gallons, would increase to $60 from the existing $46. That is a 33.4 percent increase.

Marden also said she requested that district officials send her, as outlined in the Articles of Incorporation, an annual financial report and a report of the physical conditions of the assets of the district.

That way, Marden said, she would be able to sit down with Jackson to get a better idea of the physical and financial condition of the district to project future increases.

Some of the seven people attending Tuesday night’s meeting said they would rather see smaller more frequent increases than one large increase, Marden said.

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