How long has Wallingford owned their utility. If they bought it in 1930 then it wouldn't be reflected in tax rates today. The maintenance and expenses would be presumably covered by utility bills.

The problem is if you take another town and suggest they embark on their own 'municipal power' program, then they would need to either build their own utility. The cost of which they would have to fund via taxes or via surcharges on utility bills going forward. Not apparent that such a situation would be cheaper for residents over the long run.