WILTON – If a Volkswagen does the job why buy a Mercedes? That’s the “be realistic” part of Russell Mathers II’s philosophy on acquiring new things. The other part involves planning and being prepared to make changes in those plans.

Mathers, Superintendent of the town’s Wastewater Treatment and Water departments, along with his crew can now attest to that philosophy.

Recently, Mathers presented a wastewater 2008-2009 budget to the town’s board of selectmen. This budget had shrunk over $75,000 from the previous one.

Ownership pays off

The lower budget was due to a 20-year-plan where the department paid as they needed to replace items instead of seeking high interest loans. But, the major difference is that the department paid off their debt and the town now owns the 30-year-old plant, he told the board.

The best part for taxpayers: it was done without a rate increase. There hasn’t been a sewer rate increase in more than 20 years and there are no plans for one in the future, he said.

Finding the best method

“This didn’t happen by accident…it was planned,” Mathers said. “We thought if we could maintain the plant for 20 years and not owe any more money, then we could reinvest the money coming in back into the department.”

“They did it just by doing it,” he said applauding his crew who are intelligent yet not afraid to get dirty, he said.

With help from chief mechanic Clayton Putnam and crew members Dale Welch and Clifford LeHigh, “We don’t just throw money at something and wait for something to happen, we find the most reasonable method for fixing it,” he said.

A quarterly sewer rate for 1,000 cubic feet in Wilton has been $64.24 since before Mathers became employed there 20 years ago. But the majority of those payments from the approximately one thousand customers went to the Farmers Home Administration and the Maine Municipal Bond Bank.

“The bank got $34 out of every payment leaving $30.24 for running the department,” he said.

From that, the crew has been creative and thrifty and even saved money. Paying cash for items including large equipment that came with a $80,000 price tag and using what they have were some of the ways. The department has had one truck for 18 years, he added.

“It does not make sense to pay 30 years for a pump that has a 10-year warranty,” he said.

Starting with a state-of-the-art plant when it was built in 1978, the crew has learned to operate it at its maximum potential, Town Manager Peter Nielsen said.

“Mathers, Putnam and others have earned national awards for creativity in problem solving and skills in making innovations. We have excellent people who demonstrate the values of Yankee ingenuity and thrift, and Wilton has had the benefit of their work for 20 years,” Nielsen said.

The department has assistance from water clerk Linda Bureau in the town office who handles customer relations and paperwork and Linda Jellison who does the payroll and pays bills for them, Nielsen added.

Now that the loan is paid, Mathers has some projects in mind including some repairs and upgrades at the plant, replacing galvanized sewer pipes from the 1950s around town and about 20 hydrants that are also 50 years old, fixing a leaking roof and buying new lab equipment.

Mathers says he likes his job and the people of Wilton and is committed to the two departments but there is another side to his conservative nature.

“I play guitar in a heavy metal band,” he chuckled.