Morris Township committee introduces ordinance to raise sewer service and connection fees through 2030

The Township Committee of Morris Township on Oct. 15 introduced an ordinance that would raise sewer service charges and connection fees beginning in 2026 and phase further increases through 2030.

Business Administrator Tim Quinn told the committee that sewer user rates “have not increased since 2008” while the utility’s operating costs have risen. He recommended raising the residential charge from $565 in 2025 to $650 in 2026 and then adding $20 in each year from 2027 through 2030; he proposed comparable percentage increases for commercial customers that would bring the commercial rate from $6.75 per 1,000 gallons to $10.40 by 2030. Quinn also proposed increasing the sewer connection fee from $9,533 (calculated in 2014) to $10,800.

Quinn said the increases are needed to fund operations and planned capital work, including a Butterworth plant “headworks” upgrade estimated at approximately $8,000,000. “The rate increase is essential to fund the operations through 2030,” he said, adding that even at the proposed 2030 levels “it’s still below most municipalities that are contiguous to the township.”

Deputy Mayor Grayzel asked whether the ordinance is a full replacement of Chapter 410 or limited changes; Quinn replied that the ordinance replaces the chapter text but that only portions will change, chiefly rates and the connection fee. The committee also discussed an added definition for equivalent dwelling units.

The motion introduced the ordinance (Ordinance 26-25, amending Chapter 410, Sewers and Sewer Disposal). A roll-call recorded four yes votes and one no: Yes — Raffitz, Genada, Grisell, Mayor Donna J. Garriglia; No — Mr. Dorphy. The committee set the public hearing, final consideration, and adoption for the next regular meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at 7 p.m. at the municipal building on Woodland Avenue.

Quinn said the township already serves neighboring municipalities through service agreements and that without new revenues the utility’s expenditures are effectively capped even as fringe benefits, energy, sludge disposal and insurance costs have risen materially. The ordinance as introduced includes the schedule of annual percentage increases and the higher connection fee; committee members did not propose amendments at the Oct. 15 introduction and the document will return for public comment and a final vote on Nov. 12.

If adopted, the ordinance would formalize the rate schedule and connection fees described in Quinn’s presentation and authorize the clerk to publish the required notice after final adoption.