Fiscal Stewardship
Utility Rate Management: Holding Increases Below Consultant Recommendations
Every year for eight years, Fraser held utility rate increases to 0%–5% — against consultants recommending 9% water and 9% sewer increases.
Throughout his eight-year tenure, Kwasi Fraser's administration held annual utility rate increases to a range of 0% to 5% — consistently below the increases recommended by outside consultants hired to evaluate the town's water and sewer rate structures. At various points, those consultants recommended 9% increases to water rates and 9% increases to sewer rates. In every case, the Fraser administration declined to implement the full recommended increases.
What This Means for Residents
Utility rate increases are compounding: a 9% increase in year one followed by a 9% increase in year two produces a combined increase of approximately 18.8% over two years. A 4% increase in year one followed by a 4% increase in year two produces approximately 8.2%. For a household paying $100 per month in combined water and sewer charges, the difference between consultant-recommended rates and Fraser-era rates over eight years is substantial. The administration's consistent choice to hold increases below consultant recommendations was a direct benefit to every utility customer in Purcellville — residential homeowners, renters, and commercial businesses alike.
How Other Fiscal Mechanisms Absorbed the Gap
Holding utility rate increases below consultant recommendations does not eliminate the underlying cost pressures. The Fraser administration managed those pressures through three alternative mechanisms:
Federal grant capture. $10.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds — of which $8 million was directed to water and sewer infrastructure — reduced the capital investment that would otherwise have required rate increases to fund. A $750,000 inflow/infiltration project, a $500,000 SCADA replacement, and more than $2 million in PFAS-related infrastructure were funded through ARPA rather than through utility rates.
Debt restructuring. Three debt-restructuring transactions (2017, 2020, 2021) lowered interest costs on outstanding obligations, reducing the annual debt service charge that would otherwise have been recovered through utility rates.
Revenue diversification. The Aberdeen Nutrient Credit Bank, launched in June 2021, generated more than $900,000 in revenue from the sale of nutrient credits — a non-rate, non-tax income stream that offset some operating costs.
The Post-Fraser Rate Context
When Kwasi Fraser was appointed Interim Town Manager on January 8, 2025, Mayor Chris Bertaut identified reducing utility rates as one of three explicit priorities. Bertaut noted that utility rates had risen 16% to 18%under the prior town management that had served between Fraser's mayoral tenure and his appointment as manager. The comparison between the 0%–5% annual increases held during Fraser's eight mayoral years and the 16%–18% total increase that accumulated under subsequent management reflects the lasting value of the rate discipline his administration maintained.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Consultant-recommended increases: 9% water rates; 9% sewer rates — not adopted
- Actual annual increases held by Fraser administration: 0%–5% range
- Mechanism 1: $8 million ARPA directed to water/sewer infrastructure
- Mechanism 2: Three debt restructurings reducing annual debt service
- Mechanism 3: Aberdeen Nutrient Credit Bank generating $900,000-plus in non-rate revenue
- Post-Fraser context: utility rates rose 16%–18% under subsequent management (Mayor Bertaut, January 2025)
- Fraser Town Manager appointment priority: reduce utility rates (purcellvilleva.gov CivicAlerts AID=3219)
