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The Town of Sudbury offers free electric vehicle (EV) charging at a few locations, but the most notable for the public are the chargers on both sides of the Fairbank Community Center. When those became operational on December 4, the Town announced that they were free for now, but they would eventually charge a fee.
Currently the Town EV Chargers are being offered to the community free of charge. In the future, these chargers will require payment and will have a parking fee. Advanced notice of the fee structure will be given via our website and social media platforms.”
As use of the EV chargers at the Fairbank Community Center has picked up, with some cars parked and charging for long periods of time, residents have raised questions about the appropriateness of offering free charging to EV owners on social media.
In the January 28 meeting of the Sudbury Select Board, Town Manager Andy Sheehan informed the board that the Town could collect fees into the Town’s general fund, but the Town was seeking to establish a revolving fund at Town Meeting in May. A revolving fund would provide a dedicated fund for EV charging revenue, which could then be used for ongoing expenses and maintenance. That exchange unintentionally created the appearance that a revolving fund would be created before fees were collected, but Sheehan never actually said that was the case. (2:38:10)
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During the February 4 meeting of the Select Board, the EV revolving fund came up again during a discussion about acceptance of the articles for the warrant for Annual Town Meeting in May. At that time, Vice Chair Dan Carty asked Town Manager Sheehan to verify that the establishment of a revolving fund was not a gating factor to collecting fees. Sheehan confirmed that Carty was correct.
Sudbury Weekly asked Town Manager Sheehan why the Town wasn’t collecting fees if it has the means to do so. He told us:
“We have not started charging yet because we are still developing the rate structure. We want to implement a rate structure that covers our costs. I am aware of towns that are struggling to cover costs and we want to avoid that scenario if we can.
The revolving fund was never felt to be a necessity. It is just our preferred method of managing the funds.
Once we settle on the rate structure we will begin charging. Initially, funds will go into the general fund. If Town Meeting approves the revolving fund, funds collected beginning July 1 will go into that fund.”
With that statement, it’s clear the Town at least intends to charge fees before a revolving fund could be created (it has to be approved by Town Meeting first). Meanwhile, it is still unclear exactly when the Town will finalize a rate structure and start charging fees for EV charging. As criticism about free EV charging for the public mounts, fees may be coming sooner rather than later.