DAVID BILLIPS
WESTFIELD – The Finance and Legislative & Ordinance committees plan to conduct a joint meeting to discuss an increase to sewer fees, to consider motions relative to sewer service and revenue.
The Finance Committee initiated that discussion at its Jan. 15 meeting, held prior to the regular City Council session when Finance Chairman Brent B. Bean II said he was “trying to get caught up” with the issue after serving as council president, who typically do not sit on committees.
Water Resource Superintendent Dave Billips suggested a joint meeting to share information about the cost of operating the city’s wastewater treatment plan and the revenue, paid by residents with sewer service, to operate the plant.
“This is not a five-minute discussion,” Billips said. “It can be an introduction, but it’s not something that we can hash out on one Finance (Committee) meeting.
ROBERT PAUL
“It’s election season,” Billips said. “You know you have to do this. You also know that it is true that this is unpopular.
Bean said that Billips should work with the city’s consultant, the engineering firm of Tighe & Bond, on a presentation and that councilors “will take care of the politics.”
“This has been going on for 12 years,” Billips said. “I asked for a 23 percent increase and got 8 percent from the council.”
Bean said he is trying to gauge a consensus among City Council members because of the political nature of increasing municipal fees during an election year.
Ward 5 Councilor Robert A. Paul, Sr., who is also on the Finance Committee, said that sewer fees should not be increased until the city takes other steps to increase revenue for the wastewater treatment plant.
“There is no revenue because people are not hooked up. That’s why I want to put (an availability) fees into motion,” Paul said. “Why should people have to pay a sewer fee for people who are on a sewer line, but who are not hooked up?”
Paul said residents who have the option of connecting to the city’s system, but have not done so, usually because their septic system is working and to avoid paying a sewer fee, should be required to pay for accessibility of an active sewer line
Billips and City Engineer Mark Cressotti countered that a sewer rate increase is needed to operate the plant and that the revenue which would be generated through an availability fee is unknown because the number of residents with access to sewers, but who have not connected still needs to be determined.
Cressotti said the ”rate increase still needs to go forward because these other revenues are knot known.”
Bean said that he would like to schedule that joint meeting before the council’s second February session.
“I’m looking at the third week in February,” Bean said.
