Middle Pays MUA Adjustment

COURT HOUSE – Following meetings with the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority (CMCMUA), Middle Township Committee passed a resolution authorizing payment of the extraordinarily high adjustment to the township’s fees for wastewater management. 
The arrangement with the regional MUA is that participating municipalities must cover fixed and variable costs in proportion to their actual use.
Annually, the CMCMUA forwards an adjustment to the township after it reconciles actual wastewater flows to the utility and correlates that with the year’s actual expenses and revenue. An earlier budget amount is based on a projection, so an adjustment is expected.
This year’s adjustment was significantly higher than expected, requiring an emergency appropriation of $170,200.
Township Committee member Timothy Donohue explained the outcome of the meeting with the MUA. He noted that the larger than usual adjustment is due to the fact that Middle Township is growing in terms of population, leading to greater wastewater flow. 
Donohue also said that the percentage of the township connecting to and using the regional sewer system is increasing. The hope is that more sewer connections will mean more ratepayers across which the costs can be spread.
In addition, Middle’s population is growing relative to other municipalities which share the MUA’s costs, leaving Middle with a greater share of the overall expense. “Our slice of the pie is getting bigger,” Donohue said.
The appropriation adopted at the meeting notes that the “emergency appropriation shall be provided for in full in the 2018 budget.”
MUA fees are not a general appropriation issue. The expense of the MUA is born by the users of the sewer system through the annual sewer fee in the township. Whether or not there are enough new users to absorb the added costs is not clear at this time.
Township officials said it was too early to know if sewer rates will need to increase in 2018.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.