sewer fees?

The fun never stops at Pascack Press. I usually never post my work, but maybe I should. As you can tell, it's absolutely riveting stuff! Just finished this one...

Council considers charging sewer fees
by Thomas Clancey
of Pascack Press

As Montvale faces sweeping cuts to municipal services, one possible solution that has emerged is charging property owners a fee for sewer costs, an expense traditionally paid for out of the general tax levy.

Town officials are seeking public input and are holding a budget meeting on March 24 as they attempt to negotiate a state mandated four percent tax levy cap that restricts the amount municipal taxes can be increased.

“One thing we can do to get under the four percent levy cap is to take those sewer charges out of the tax base, put them in the revenue side,” said Mayor Roger Fyfe. “Your talking about $800,000 if we do that, but we would still have to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in cuts to come up with a reasonable tax increase.”

The plan has already met some opposition. Councilman Chuck Wehrle said he thinks it’s a way to avoid making tough decisions. But Wehrle acknowledged tough decisions are looming.

“We’re bleeding at a rate of about $80,000 a month,” he said. “In other words, we’re spending $80,000 more that we’re taking in per month. I sympathize with the reasoning, but I think it’s the wrong solution to the problem.”

Mayor Fyfe said that about $1 million in cuts would be necessary to bring the borough under cap if sewer costs remain a pre-tax expense.

“It’s the not the matter of a shell game, we’re not trying to be cute about this. We’re trying to be as open as we can,” said Fyfe. “We need to do this from an accounting point of view to move it to the other side of the equation.”

Calls to the municipal offices in other municipalities around the Pascack Valley confirmed that Old Tappan charges a fee for sewer related costs. Park Ridge, River Vale, the Township of Washington, and Woodcliff Lake currently fund these costs out of the general tax levy.