From the Mashpee Enterprise · May 8, 2024 · By Alex Megerle
At Town Meeting on May 6, 2024, Mashpee voters backed about $96.1 million to build the second phase of the town sewer system. The vote was 358 to 27, well above the two-thirds majority required. Borrowing still depended on a matching debt exclusion question (a ballot vote to raise taxes above the usual limit to pay off debt) at the May 11 town election. Voters also approved a new full-time wastewater executive assistant position, 275 to 30, and an enterprise fund (a self-supporting account fed by sewer charges) for the wastewater department starting in fiscal year 2026, 278 to 18. The town's wastewater superintendent said the enterprise fund is needed to qualify for state revolving loan funds. This story is about Popponesset Bay.
Consultants estimate that Phases One and Two together would gradually cut nitrogen entering Popponesset Bay by 42 percent. The town manager estimated the average-value home would pay roughly $75 more in property tax each year over 30 years, with payments starting no earlier than fiscal year 2029. Residents asked how soon results would show. The wastewater superintendent said improvement takes years because groundwater moves slowly, and he said sewering removes nitrogen better than Title 5 and most alternative septic systems. For Waquoit Bay readers, this is a regional comparison: Mashpee, Falmouth and Sandwich all face nitrogen limits.
This is CPWB’s summary of a news article. The full article and its photos are published by the Mashpee Enterprise.
Drafted with AI assistance from the linked source.
