Sewer Commission denies flow increase, approves new connection

Sewer Commission · Meeting of February 12, 2026

Tyngsborough Sewer Commission moves toward a three-year, 15 percent residential rate hike and sets a March 26 hearing. Sewer Administrator Kathy Cayer presented Massachusetts Department of Revenue "full cost pricing" guidance, showing the current $574 annual residential charge could reach roughly $874 by 2029, with commercial rates rising from $8.36 to $15.43 per thousand gallons. Commissioners unanimously denied a Middlesex Road plaza owner's bid for two more flow units after unpaid overuse, and unanimously approved a new connection for a Middlesex Road home with a failing septic system.

The board also confirmed $1.9 million in federal funding, once in the "draft federal budget," is "now in the actual federal budget" for a Phalanx Road sewer extension serving 11 homes, requiring a $489,000 local match. Chair Brian J. Martin pressed a developer's attorney over a stalled Flint's Corner project, warning, "it's Groundhog Day every monthly meeting we have here."

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Source: the Sewer Commission meeting of February 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.