A water rate increase seems inevitable in Williamsville.

Officials learned recently that the village’s Water Department was $38,000 in debt as of May. That figure is estimated to have risen to nearly $50,000.

To help bridge the gap, officials have proposed a rate increase, although the exact amount has not yet been determined. A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for Dec. 14.

Village residents already pay rates that are 40 percent higher than people living in places served by the Erie County Water Authority, Trustee Jeffrey L. Kingsley said. He is urging the board to press ahead with asking the Water Authority to take over the village’s system.

“Any way you look at it, it makes sense,” he said during a work session Monday. “I realize the devil is in the details, but I just don’t understand why it hasn’t already been done.”

“Because the devil is in the details,” replied Trustee Basil J. Piazza, the former mayor.

The infrastructure is aging, making it difficult for the village’s small public works crew to maintain the water system and promptly find and fix leaks. Since Williamsville has a population of only about 5,000, maintenance costs are shared by a relatively small number of customers, driving up the water rates.

Kingsley said he would vote for a rate increase only if the measure is paired with a resolution asking the Water Authority to begin a feasibility study of taking over the water system.

“It has to be done sooner than later,” he said, noting that such a study would involve a long process.

Village officials seem resigned to the need for a rate increase. They also seem inclined to pursue the possibility of turning over the village’s water system as a longer-term solution.

Trustee Brian J. Geary said Robert A. Mendez, executive director of the Erie County Water Authority, advised the village to launch the study as soon as possible because the process could take 17 months. The study would provide the village with a list of upgrades that would have to be completed before a takeover.

Geary said that state funds to offset the cost of repairing the water system no longer are available because of the state’s dire financial situation.

During the public portion of Monday’s Village Board meeting, Kingsley said he sees a link between studying a takeover of the water system and acknowledging the discontent of voters, which has resulted in votes in five communities to downsize town boards.

Williamsville is widely believed to be the first village targeted for a dissolution petition in the spring that would put the issue before voters. Kingsley, like the rest of the Village Board, says he believes the village could continue, but needs to find ways to cut costs.

“I think this would be a wonderful demonstration to residents that we are listening to their concerns, and we are becoming more efficient as we move forward,” he said.

In other action Monday, the board adopted a local law that bans texting while driving. This law mirrors the one adopted by the Amherst Town Board and eliminates any question over whether Amherst police can enforce the law within the village, officials said.