Concerns rise over possible town hall sale and hiked rates
By Patricia Bogumil
Staff Writer
Definitely, the Town of Waterford Sanitary District (WSD) wants to raise cash.
Maybe, the Town of Waterford municipal building is up for sale.
And, absolutely, sanitary district rates are going up.
All of which has some town residents and officials holding their noses and crying: foul!
How this situation came to be briefly aired Feb. 8 at a special 8 a.m. meeting called in response to a recent information request from the Waterford Post (see related story, below).
Via phone and email, the Post requested information about recent actions taken in regard to selling the town’s municipal building and raising Sanitary District charges.
Each district commissioner was asked individually for his or her input on these issues.
Each declined to reply individually, instead choosing to come together to speak at the special Feb. 8 meeting.
At that meeting, people would learn about the situation the Sanitary District is in, said Bill Gerard, the WSD president. He described that situation as being “extremely bad.”
WSD is an independent governmental body that started operating in 1988.
It provides for the collection and transmittal of wastewater for 1,925 households and businesses in the Town of Waterford.
Besides Gerard, the WSD board consists of commissioners Jim Santaga and Donna Block.
Passing the buck
WSD owns the Town of Waterford municipal building at 415 N. Milwaukee St. in the Village of Waterford.
The building houses WSD and town municipal offices as well as the town police department.
Under the terms of a 99-year lease that began in 1988, the Town of Waterford pays $1 annually to WSD for the town’s space in the building.
At its Jan. 4 meeting, Gerard discussed the burden the $1 lease places on WSD users, according to minutes posted online.
He also noted long-term financial costs of maintaining the current building rather than a smaller one.
He presented preliminary sketches for possible new offices at a different site, as well as a valuation of the current building by Kathy Romanak, the town’s assessor.
WSD commissioners then unanimously voted Jan. 4 to pursue the idea of finding out if the Town might be interested in buying the Town Hall.
At a special Jan. 31 meeting, the Town Board considered a letter from Gerard about that issue.
Gerard’s letter was tabled, with no action taken.
The two-sentence letter offered no information for the Town Board to act on, explained Town Supervisor Tom Hincz. “We don’t know terms, conditions, price – nothing,” said Hincz.
Town Chairman Bob Langmesser said WSD would need to offer a real good deal for the Town Board to borrow money to own a building it now leases for $1 annually.
Langmesser said he has been advised that any new owner of the Town Hall would have to honor the $1 annual contract now in place.
Rates on the rise
WSD household customers were charged $110 in their most recent quarterly billing.
WSD rates have climbed steadily through the years, with customers paying quarterly charges of $66 in 2005; $78 in 2007; and $92 in 2009.
WSD officials point to increased costs charged by Western Racine County Sewerage District, as well as a loss of income from new hookups in recent years.
“In the past, the Sanitary District was getting all kinds of money on hookup fees,” explained Hincz. “But now, there are no more hookup fees because of so few buildable lots.”
Using what’s on hand
Rather than ask users to pay more in fees, the District could consider using about half the money that it has placed in reserves, suggested Langmesser.
Hincz said he attended a Feb. 1 Sanitary District meeting at which its accountant confirmed that WSD has about $700,000 in reserve funds.
At that meeting, “instead of using their reserves,” said Hincz, the WSD board voted for a $5 quarterly fee hike for all users as well as additional fees for people with grinder pumps.
Resident Perry Baumann is a lifelong resident who works for the Town of Waterford as a mechanic.
He said that extra fees for people with grinder pumps are unfair.
Paid in full?
When town sewers went in, about 302 customers needed grinder pumps to handle flow from their properties, he said.
They all paid an upfront fee charged by WSD to guarantee that WSD would replace and maintain the grinder pumps forever, Baumann said.
“Now a different regime has come in; they have decided to renege on that,” said Baumann.
After the initial system went in, new users needing grinder pumps have had to purchase their own pumps and maintain the pumps at their own cost rather than by WSD, Baumann added.
Baumann said he understands that WSD hopes to start charging all grinder pump users an extra $90 annually, regardless of the guarantees the original users were given.
“I’m very unhappy about this and the way they went about it,” he said.
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