Maplewood sewer fees will likely rise to $186, an $11 increase per household, this year.
Mayor Vic DeLuca and Township Administrator Joseph Manning explained that the increase was due to an assessment from the Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties, which owns and operates the wastewater facility in Elizabeth that serves a number of local towns including Maplewood and South Orange.
“We typically cover [that increase] through the fees” charged to residents, said Manning. Currently Maplewood’s sewer charge is $175 annually per household, which has held steady for several years (with the exception of two years ago when it increased to $194 because of legal fees the township had to pay related to the Passaic River lawsuit.)
Mayor Vic DeLuca said the township’s finance committee recommended that the increase be made in 2015.
Township Committeeman Jerry Ryan asked if this would be a one-time increase. DeLuca said it was not, because the township’s overall assessment from the joint meeting is going up. “They’re charging us more than we’re [currently] bringing in,” he said.
“Unfortunately this is not going to go away in the future,” said DeLuca.
Ryan said he would like to try to ensure that the fee remain stable for some time. However, Deputy Mayor Kathleen Leventhal said that was uncertain until the resolution of the lawsuit.
DeLuca told Manning it would be useful to get a history of the sewer fees over the years, before the Township Committee voted on a resolution to increase the fees.
