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Council defers decision on mandatory sewer-connection changes after debate over costs and penalties
Summary
Council discussed proposed amendments to ordinance 13.06130 (waiving the $7,500 connection fee, reimbursing up to $5,000, and extending the hookup window) but tabled the ordinance to seek legal review and to soften mandatory language and remove the $5,000 reimbursement option.
Councilman Chris Larson led a presentation and lengthy discussion on proposed changes to Chapter 13.06130, the city code section that requires connection to city sewer when sewer service becomes available.
Larson summarized three options: waive the $7,500 connection fee and require hookup (with an extended window), cost-share connections, or strike the mandatory requirement. He said, "there's about a 144 homes within Preston City limits that do not have a connection to the sewer," and presented preliminary fiscal estimates: potential reimbursements could total roughly $720,000, and waiving the $7,500 fee for those homes would forgo about $1,080,000 in connection fees, producing a combined exposure on the order of $1.8 million if broadly applied.
Council debate focused on fairness to current ratepayers who financed the new wastewater plant, legal risks of charging a monthly sewer fee to properties not connected, whether misdemeanor penalties in Chapter 13 would apply, and whether language should use 'shall' (mandatory) or 'may' (discretion). Several councilmembers rejected the $5,000 reimbursement and the misdemeanor penalty as drafted. The council moved to table the ordinance so staff and the city attorney can revise the draft (soften mandatory words, remove reimbursement and penalty language) and confirm legal authority (AIC/ICRIM review) before returning the proposal.
