Authority prepares for unit system of sewer assessments

Warwick Beacon ·

The Warwick Sewer Authority presented the draft version of their amended rules and regulations for sewer use within the city to a small gathering at City Hall Monday night.

The most important changes to note in the 90-page draft document lie in Articles 7, 9 and 14, which regulate private wastewater treatment facilities; who is responsible for paying sewer fees (as well as how new sewer installation project costs are assessed) and updates rules on how public hearings for the Sewer Authority are publicized and conducted, respectively.

The section most pertinent to Warwick property owners in line to get sewer service is Article 9, which outlines new standards for assessing how residents will be charged for new sewer construction.

Until this point assessments have been based on property frontage on sewer lines by linear foot. That would change to a unit assessment.

The draft regulation specifically states that, “charges will be determined on a project by project basis. The assessment shall be calculated by establishing the actual total project cost divided by the number of Equivalent Dwelling Units [EDUs] in the project area.” EDUs are separated as either residential (single family or multi-family homes and condominiums) or commercial buildings (assessed by square footage).

Single-family homes count as one EDU. Two family and multi-family homes with up to 10 units count as one EDU and an additional 0.1 EDUs for each additional unit over one. Multi-family homes of 10 units or more count as two EDUs, plus an additional 0.05 EDUs for each unit over 10. The same rules apply for condominiums – 1 EDU for condos with up to 10 units and 0.1 EDUs for each unit over one, and condos with 10 or more units count as 2 EDUs, with an additional 0.05 EDUs for units over 10.

Commercial properties are assessed as follows: Up to 5,000 square feet (1 EDU); 5,001 to 15,000 square feet (2 EDUs); 15,001 to 30,000 (3 EDUs); 30,001 to 50,000 square feet (4 EDUs) and; 50,001 square feet or greater (5 EDUs).

Mixed use buildings will be assessed as commercial buildings if the area of the non-residential portion of the building is greater than 1,000 square feet.

While these regulations address the method by which it will be decided how much money will actually be owed by residents who are getting new sewers installed (total project cost divided by the total number of EDUs in the project), it is at this point unknown what the specific costs of construction will be for these projects.

“Please note that the sewer assessment rates for new sewer construction have yet to be determined and will be the subject of a future public hearing,” reads a portion of the notice announcing Monday’s public hearing.

Projections found on the Warwick Sewer Authority website for the four remaining scheduled sewer projects through September of 2019 (Phase 3 of Governor Francis, O’Donnell Hill, Northwest Gorton Pond and the Bayside/Longmeadow projects respectively) amount to total cost projections of $32,800,633, equating out to an estimated average assessment of $16,872 for the 1,944 total properties to be serviced by the new sewers.

The draft regulations in Section 9.2.3 state clearly that residents will be able to pay their annual assessments via installment payments over 30 years with interest not exceeding 1.25 percent. Residents may make these payments quarterly to further break up the charges. There are also various deferments available for undeveloped land parcels, land that has an on-site water treatment system, parcels owned by religious corporations and cemeteries.

When broken down, using the assessment estimations provided by the WSA, each equivalent dwelling unit in the areas due to get sewers are looking at assessment costs of about $140 per quarter, or about $562 annually. So, for example, a person with two single-family homes on their property would pay $280 a quarter, and about $1,124 annually in sewer assessment fees.

However even with these payment structures, the new sewer assessment methods could still have drastic consequences on some Warwick residents, especially those who own vacant lots in addition to their residential property.

While her case is certainly not a common situation, resident Lois Graydon is a prime example. Graydon spoke out at the meeting, saying that her family owns nine pieces of property, four of which are vacant lots, which have been in her family for over 70 years. She said she worries about her assessments amounting to nearly $200,000 in total.

Using the estimation figures described above, nine EDUs – if they all are assessed as EDUs and are not eligible for deferment, which was not clearly determined at the meeting one way or another – Graydon’s total assessment would be more in the range of $150,000, breaking down to 30 years of $1,250 quarterly payments.

“I understand that you have a difficult job to do but I also feel it’s unfair for residents,” Graydon said. “I feel like I’m personally footing the bill for all the mistakes of the city of Warwick.”

Ward 5 Councilor Ed Ladouceur, who has been advocating on behalf of residents facing these heavy fees for a number of years, also made his unhappiness known at the meeting, saying that the WSA has a responsibility to try to come to a better middle ground with residents who have been “screwed over” through no fault of their own.

“We’re here today because government failed, and it failed the people that still do not have sewers,” Ladouceur said. “That didn't happen on the majority of yours' watch, but it happened. I’m not looking to cast blame or point fingers. I’m simply stating that it’s not their fault...and I’m asking that all of us that have anything to do with getting these costs to something that is reasonable to do whatever we can do.”

Ladouceur said, and followed up with an additional email to the WSA board, that is was non-negotiable that residents getting sewers should not be burdened with paying for the cost of road re-paving, or for the cost of maintaining the grinder pumps which Ladouceur said “must be considered part of the infrastructure and the costs borne by everyone.”

Further, Ladouceur charged the WSA to aggressively pursue all forms of federal funding in order to bring down the sewer assessment rates to a level that is closer to the rates paid by residents who received sewer services decades ago.

“I think that they have every right in the world to object to the cost because what they’re being asked to absorb today is not equitable to folks 25-30 years ago,” Ladouceur said on Monday night.

Ladouceur also asked the board to consider scheduling an additional meeting to discuss the new regulations, as he felt the one on Monday night was not properly advertised, as evidenced by the fewer than 10 residents who showed up for the public hearing.

Residents have until Oct. 16 to present their opinions and recommendations to the WSA for consideration.