Pennington Borough is expected to raise its sewage treatment rates for the first time since 1993, resulting in an annual increase of about $80 to the average familyTypical family would pay about $80 more annually
By:John Tredrea
Pennington Borough is expected to raise its sewage treatment rates for the first time since 1993, resulting in an annual increase of about $80 to the average family.
The increase, recommended by Borough Auditor Robert Morrison, would be authorized under an ordinance the Borough Council is expected to introduce soon, possibly Monday night. An adoption vote on the ordinance would be cast by council at a future meeting, during which, under state law, a public hearing would be held before council voted on the measure.
Mr. Morrison said that, if the ordinance goes through as currently written, a borough family of four of five members would see its sewer bill go up about $80 a year. Sewer bills are issued quarterly in Pennington. The rate increase’s impact on larger users, such as some businesses and The Pennington School, obviously would be larger than on residences.
The auditor said that, under the proposed ordinance, the borough would continue to charge $3.10 per 1,000 gallons for the first 4,000 gallons of sewage service used, by any customer, during each quarter-year. After the first 4,000 gallons, the rate would go up to $4.20. Mr. Morrison said leaving the rates the same for the first 4,000 gallons eases the proposed ordinance’s impact on senior citizens and small households.
Although the rate after 4,000 gallons will go up by about one-third, the actual monetary impact on borough households will not be very severe, Mr. Morrison said. "A family of four of five will see its quarterly sewer bill go up about $20" if the proposed sewer rates are OK’d.
The auditor said rate increases are needed because of a projected shortfall in the cost of running the borough sewer system. Substantially contributing to that shortfall, Mayor Jim Loper noted, is a change in borough accounting practices during the past few years. Under these new practices, a pro-rated portion of the salaries of borough employees who spend part of their time dealing with sewers is taken from revenues collected via sewer bills. Years ago, no salary money was taken from those revenues.
Mr. Morrison, who also works as auditor for other municipalities in the state, said Pennington has waited an unusually long time to raise its sewer bills. "Most towns do it a lot more often than once every eight years," he said.
Mr. Morrison said Pennington should do a "revenue maximization" study of its sewer system, to make sure every customer is paying the proper amount for sewage treatment. Council is considering undertaking such a study.