Residents press Belmar council to study stormwater utility to ease sewer bills

Belmar — During public comment on July 14, residents urged the Belmar Borough Council to consider creating a stormwater utility to reduce residential sewer charges and better allocate infrastructure costs.

A resident who identified himself during public comment cited 2025 figures from the South Mahomet Regional Sewerage Authority indicating Belmar had approximately 331,000,000 gallons of wastewater sent for treatment while the borough’s billed water sales were about 183,000,000 gallons. The commenter argued that difference means customers are currently being charged disposal for roughly two gallons for every gallon purchased and suggested a stormwater utility could allocate costs more fairly.

Mayor Donovan thanked the commenter and asked for written materials to be shared with borough counsel and the finance consultant Michael Bascom for review. Council members agreed to have the material forwarded to staff and counsel for further study.

Why it matters: If adopted, a stormwater utility would alter how stormwater management and associated infrastructure costs are billed and may reduce sewer-disposal charges borne by residents. The creation of such utilities requires ordinance drafting, legal review, and an analysis of regulatory thresholds (the commenter noted MS4/municipal stormwater rules) and local revenue impacts.

What comes next: Staff will receive the commenter’s materials; the finance consultant and borough attorney will review the proposal. The council did not take formal action at the meeting; any policy change would require ordinance drafting and subsequent council approval.