Boothbay Region Water District Accountant/Administrative Manager Marcia Wilson told trustees Nov. 26, the district's current income is about $60,000 short of the budgeted net income (projected profit, after accounting for expenses): $274, 606 for the year to date versus the budgeted $334,496. 

However, the overall income is still higher than last year due to the recent rate increase. 

Wilson detailed the areas that were over or under budget. Electricity, chemicals and “contractual other,” which consists of several expense catergories, were under budget from 2% to 16%. Notable over budget categories were wages (6.5%) which was caused by an additional payroll in October, as well as adjustments to have a competitive rate when BRWD brought on new hires. Employee pensions and benefits were over budget by 19% due to several staff members training for more advanced licenses and increases in pension values being tied to wages. Transportation was over budget by 42% due to maintenace of the vehicle fleet.  

In other action, BRWD received an email from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an updated Emergency Response Plan. In accordance with the Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, any community water systems that serve populations greater than 3,300 must maintain an outline of response strategies in case of a natural or man-made incident that may threaten life, property, or the environment. This ranges from main breaks to large-scale disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or flooding. General Manager Weston Alley will attend a class on disaster planning at the Maine Rural Water Association conference next month. What Alley learns will act as an addition to the Emergency Response Plan.