Mayor Vic Deluca said the fee hike is needed to offset a charge from the Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties, which operates the local water treatment plant that serves Maplewood, and needs the cash for capital improvement costs.
"We are recommending a $10 surcharge in 2017 to cover deferred capital costs," the mayor said at the last Township Committee meeting, later adding, "The rest of it is to do work with sewer covers, about 25 sewer covers that will reduce the inflow so that we will not have this recurring bills from the joint meeting."
The TC approved plans for an ordinance to increase the fees, which will be voted on at Tuesday's meeting. See it HERE.
This marks the second year in a row that the annual sewer charge was increased, following last year's hike from $175 to $184. But the mayor stressed this is a one-time increase and the fee is expected to go back to $184 next year.
"I don't want to see it every year," TC Member Nancy Adams said.
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