Sewage rate to increase 23 percent in Sea Bright

The Sea Bright Borough Council was anticipating a 5 percent increase in this year’s municipal sewer bill, but during the March 2 meeting, Councilman C. Read Murphy told the public that the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority would increase its bill by 23 percent for the year.

The increase will mean residents’ quarterly bills would jump from $8.69 per 10,000 gallons to $10.90, said Patricia Spahr, sewer/tax collector, during an interview on March 5.

Borough officials met with the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority

TRWA), located in Monmouth Beach, last month to discuss the reasons behind the steep increase, but came away dissatisfied.

“I think we should press the issue,” Murphy said.

According to Murphy, the borough’s annual sewer bill from the TRWA is approximately $500,000, but the increase would push it to nearly $600,000.

“It’s unconscionable, but it’s also the most inexplicable,” Murphy said.

The council decided to have the borough’s auditor review the rate increase and have the borough’s engineer investigate the condition of the pipes to make sure there aren’t any leaks.

Mayor Maria Fernandes explained that the borough had previously paid into past facility upgrades and litigation for the TRWA. She believes the borough is entitled to some of the $11.5 million the authority recently gained in a lawsuit settlement.

“Where’s our cut? Where’s our money?” she asked. “We had to pay for the litigation and upgrades. We should get something back.”

Steven Gardella, owner of Sea Bright Laundromat, said he already pays $2,200 per quarter for sewage treatment.

“I’m getting hammered now and I’m only going to get hit harder,” Gardella said. “Now I’ll be paying over $2,500.”

“They just weren’t clear in their explanation; that’s why we’re looking into it,” Murphy replied.

During an interview on March 4, Michael Gianforte, the authority’s executive director, said that despite the borough’s success in reducing its water flow in the past by installing pumps and overhauling broken or deteriorating sections of the sewer system, its output has increased by 13 percent.

“Sea Bright has spent money doing regular maintenance. They are proactive,” Gianforte said. “It’s not a matter of keeping up with maintenance, it’s about having to contend with the tides and the flooding. Sea Bright is our only municipality completely on beach.”

Gianforte said increased flow could be due to leaky pipes, which the borough has an obligation to maintain, prevent and reduce.

Council President William Keeler said that because much of the sewer system runs below Route 36, trucks traveling the highway could be causing cracks or leaking in the pipes.

As a customer, rather than a member, of the authority, Sea Bright is billed based on a formula agreed upon when they entered into contracts with the authority, based on their flow and the authority’s expenses, Gianforte said. The other customer communities are Eatontown, Fort Monmouth, Red Bank, Rumson, Shrewsbury Township and Tinton Falls.

The member communities are Fair Haven, Little Silver, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Shrewsbury Borough and West Long Branch.

Additionally, Gianforte said the borough’s bill was impacted by a bond issue from Sea Bright and Rumson that was redeemed last year, when the interest rates were high, which will also mean its future bills should go down, he said.

This year, rates in Red Bank decreased by 16 percent, Tinton Falls by 17 percent, and Eatontown by 11 percent, totaling over $750,000 in reduced costs, Gianforte added.

“We reduced our expenditures in 2009 and reduced our budget this year,” Gianforte said. “Our total is down by half a million dollars to customers.”