COURT HOUSE – The Township Committee has introduced an ordinance raising sewer rates for a single-family home from the current $640 a year to $800 per year by 2027.
The increase in 2025 will be 12.5%, from $640 to $720. The following years, 2026 and 2027, will see jumps of between 5% and 6%, with a rate of $760 in 2026 and $800 in 2027.
The last rise in residential rates came in 2019, when a single-family dwelling saw rates increase from $560 to the current $640.
Commercial and hotel properties will also see the same base rate increase per unit, along with a metered fee per gallon of sewage over 40,000 gallons.
The ordinance, introduced Aug. 19, states that the increase is necessary to account for increases in cost, an increased sewage flow in the system and an increased percentage of flow relative to other municipalities in the county. The latter issue of percentage of flow is important because the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority levels its fees on municipalities based on the share of total flow each municipality accounts for.
User fees constitute the single largest source of revenue, $5.1 million, for the township’s sewer utility budget of $5.9 million. Out of that revenue, the utility covered a $2.8 million MUA charge and $1.7 million in debt service, leaving $1.4 million for the actual operating expenses associated with running the utility. Those charges include $340,000 in an indirect cost charge paid to the general township budget.
Five years ago there was a problem with stormwater intrusion into an aging sewer system, which caused the MUA charges to the township to soar. Infrastructure work on pipes and pump stations has alleviated the crisis, but now, according to Mayor Christopher Leusner, the MUA rates are rising again.
As Leusner explained it, when neighboring municipalities improve their infrastructure, the Middle Township share of the total MUA flow can increase, resulting in higher fees. Staying on top of infrastructure maintenance with one of the county’s oldest sewer systems is the challenge.
Leusner said the rise in rates will assist with principal and interest payments on infrastructure capital expenditures, as well as the ever-present MUA fees.
The ordinance is expected to come up for its required public hearing at the Township Committee meeting Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. All meetings are held in the municipal courtroom in Town Hall on Mechanic Street.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
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