Preliminary Phase 2 betterment math shows higher sewer unit; values remain preliminary

Tim, an AECOM presenter, gave a step-by-step explanation of how Orleans’ Phase 2 sewer unit and betterments are being calculated, using three years of water use (Jan. 2023–Dec. 2025) for accounts inside the Phase 2 service area.

He said the sewer unit is the total applicable water usage in the service area divided by single-family residential equivalents; non-residential properties are excluded from the denominator but their total water use is compared to the sewer unit to assign units. "If you are to calculate the sewer unit... it's the total applicable water usage within the area divided by the number of single family residential equivalents," he said. Tim showed an estimated sewer unit of about 124.6 gallons per day and explained that, because Phase 2 has more single-family properties than Phase 1, the Phase 2 sewer unit is higher than Phase 1's ~72 gpd.

Tim laid out the Phase 2 accounting and said total Phase 2 costs used in the example were in the tens of millions; the SRF-financed portion receives a Cape Islands Trust grant credited at 25% of SRF value, and the town's policy spreads 20% of the net cost via betterments (which after the SRF grant effectively reduces the portion recovered by betterments). He said the preliminary betterment pool is approximately $4.7 million spread across roughly 600 sewer units, but cautioned multiple times that "these are preliminary numbers" and that staff will perform another round of QA/QC, coordinate with finance and town counsel, then return with final figures and a public betterment meeting expected in September.

Board members asked several technical and equity questions: how multi-unit or mixed-use properties are treated, the treatment of undevelopable or town-owned parcels (excluded from assessment), impacts of irrigation and deduct meters, and whether vacant lots should be charged now or deferred until development. Tim and staff explained that undevelopable parcels are not assessed and that deduct meters affect future sewer bills but do not change the three-year historic water-use average used for Phase 2 betterments.

Next steps: staff will complete QA/QC, finalize construction costs, present final betterment lists to the board and select board for recording and final approval, and issue letters explaining levy and payment options once final figures are set.