Council panel reviews water bill discount program for seniors, disabled

City Council · Meeting of August 14, 2026

Boston council committee reviews water bill discount reaching 11,000 homeowners. City Councilor Edward M. Flynn's Committee on City Services heard from Boston Water and Sewer Commission officials Nicholas Rossi, Darlene Wallace and Dolores Randolph, plus Age Strong Commissioner Emily Shea, on a program giving homeowners 65 and older or fully disabled a 30 percent discount on water, sewer and stormwater bills.

Randolph said the discount, once 25 percent off water only, now covers about 11,000 of the commission's 88,000 accounts, including 900 fully disabled homeowners. Flynn questioned whether "fully disabled," the commission's enabling-statute language since 1977, should be reconciled with veterans' "service-connected disability" ratings used in a separate city tax program. "No communication is sort of the worst," account services director Darlene Wallace said of avoiding shutoffs.

No votes were taken; councilors Enrique J. Pepén and Erin J. Murphy submitted written absences.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,562 words

Source: the City Council meeting of August 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.