WESTFIELD – The City Council voted 11-2 on June 2 to study giving up its own authority to set sewer rates.

Under the proposal, which was referred to the Legislative and Ordinance Committee and Natural Resources Committee, as well as the city’s Legal Department, the final decisions would instead be made by the Water Commission.

At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty proposed the change, saying he had heard other councilors in the past question why questions of the sewer billing rate ever came before them instead of going to one of the city’s utility commissions.

Though Councilor Cindy Harris voted in favor of moving the motion to committee, she expressed concern over the idea of moving that authority from an elected body to an appointed board.

“I don’t think unelected people should be in charge of increasing the fees,” said Harris.

Councilors Kristen Mello and Dan Allie voted against considering the change. Mello agreed with Harris and expressed concern with having politically appointed boards deciding billing rates.

“It isn’t OK, they are unaccountable. I can’t support the idea,” said Mello.

Flaherty pointed out that sewer, as a utility, is often managed entirely by unelected municipal utility commissions.

“Their job is to make sure the utility runs the way it is supposed to run, and they need to be able to raise the money they need to do that,” said Flaherty. “I understand we want oversight, but we can participate in their meetings and show up and represent our constituents.”

Councilor Brent Bean said he sees the Water Commission as a less political body than the City Council, and that he has rarely seen pressure from within a local government for a utility commission to set rates a certain way. City councilors, he said, do receive a lot of outside pressure, from inside and outside of Westfield.

Ward 3 Councilor Bridget Matthews-Kane said that she would vote in favor of moving the motion to committee but was unsure how she would vote if it came back to a full council vote. She said she simply wants to be able to investigate the issue further.