Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Sewer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Canaan approves Depot Street sewer pumping station and flags $79,000 sewer undercharge that will require higher user rates
Summary
At its May 19 meeting the Canaan Select Board approved moving forward on the Depot Street sewer pumping station and heard from the town administrator that sewer customers were undercharged by $79,000 — an amount the water and sewer enterprise funds must recoup through higher user rates; no new rate or timetable was specified.
The Canaan Select Board voted May 19 to move forward with a Depot Street sewer pumping station project and was told the town must raise sewer rates to recover $79,000 in previously undercharged fees.
Town Administrator Jack Wozmak told the board the town’s water and sewer operations are run as enterprise funds and should not run a deficit or rely on the town’s general operating budget. He said the $79,000 undercharge will need to be repaid through increased user fees; the minutes do not specify the amount of any rate increase or a timetable for implementation.
The motion to "approve moving forward with the Depot Street sewer pumping station project" was made and seconded (Wells, Johnston) and recorded as approved. The minutes do not include a roll-call tally or financing details for the project.
Board members discussed enterprise-fund policy and the need to preserve the general fund for tax-supported services. The minutes record no public comment objecting to the project or the proposed rate-recovery plan.
Next steps recorded in the minutes include follow-up work by staff; the transcript does not provide project cost details, a construction schedule, or a specific new sewer rate. The board will consider any concrete rate proposals and project financing at a future meeting.
