Conshohocken Sewer Fees Expected to Drop in 2012

Conshohocken residents might see a decrease in their sewer bills in 2012, according to a representative from the Conshohocken Authority, the department that controls the borough’s sewer services.

Mike Clark, an attorney for the Authority, said that it expects to have a decrease of anywhere from 16 to 22 percent in service charges for sewer fees in its 2012 budget, which will be presented in November.

Clark said the decrease, which would round out to a $15 savings per connection per quarter, comes as the result of the Authority recovering nearly $800,000 in delinquent sewer fees.

“Within the last year, the Authority’s management accountant team have been able to collect [delinquent] billing,” he said.

While most of that money came from Plymouth Township, who, according to Clark, had not been forwarding money for treatment costs as far back as 2008, the funds also come from “aggressive pursuit” of delinquent bills in the borough.

“Those who pay their bill should not be subsidizing those who do not,” Clark said.

All told, the Authority has recovered just under $1 million in funds. While Clark says that not all that money is “a windfall” for the Authority, it should allow for a decrease in service fees.

“[At our meetings] the public seemed most upset about the service fee,” he said. “This money has given us the ability to have a much clearer financial picture of what our revenues and expenditures are.”

Additionally, Clark says the 2012 budget might include a change to charge apartment complexes or equivalent dwelling units for sewer fees. Currently, the authority charges its fees on a per-connection basis. Clark said that, changing the fee structure would not only result in more funds for the Authority but would also ensure that an apartment complex would pay the same rate as a home with a single connection.

“The residents did not think it was equitable for an apartment building to pay one services charge,” he said.

While this proposal has not yet gone before the Authority, Clark expects that, if both are included in the 2012 budget, that residents will see an additional decrease in sewer fees.

“ If we are able to collect the revenue from the additional sewer charges, residents could see another decrease that would equal or exceed the 16 to 22 percent deduction we are proposing now.”

Clark said that these costs savings, which would potential take place in the first and third quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, are the end result of a two-year process to improve the Authority and listen to the concerns of borough residents.

The authority had some cleaning up of its business to do,” he said. “We are in a much better position now and we are living up to what the authority board told us two years ago, which is don’t charge the residents one penny more than what it costs to run the authority. We’re closer to that goal.”