Sewers

==Links==
* Water and Sewer Authority exists in Pittsburgh
==Insights==
===Butler County===
====Mark <cski@nb.net> ====
I live in Middlesex Township in Butler County. We are currently being
forced to tap into a public sewer project. The tapin fee is $6,000 per
house, plus your own associated plumbing costs, and a future fee of
$54/month.
This project is an eminent domain situation. There are some areas
where septic systems have failed, but the majority of the township is
good. The state decided to push the sewer system anyway, but there's
a catch. The whole township isn't involved. The system concentrates
on the Route 8 and Route 228 corridors, the most densely populated areas of
the township. 
Curiously enough, these areas are the most likely to
see future development in a township that is now taxing at a rate of
17 mils total. Also curious is that none of the three township board
members are required to tap in, although one of them professes that
he wished he could when questioned at meetings. Maybe he'll pay the
extra cash to satify his desires and have it piped to his place, but
I doubt it.
The state is providing no funding, so homeowners have to fend for
themselves. There are some tapins being paid for by the county, but
they number 15 per year. A township official has told me that there
are 175 applications for these tapins, so most of the population is
left getting loans, lines of credit, or digging into bank accounts to
satisfy a tapin fee for a sewer that most of the population has no
need, nor desire, for.
The Saxonburg Area Authority is the party we will be dealing with for
sewer service. Come June 2007, the tapins will have to be paid, and
billings will begin, even though many of the future "customers" won't
even be piped into the system, due to the large amount of work and
number of contractors available:
==Links==
===Media===
====New sewage users get more time to tap in====
: By Tom Victoria, Eagle Staff Writer 
Residents of Penn and Middlesex townships forced to get sewage
service have more time to connect to the main line — sort of.
Although more than 2,500 customers must pay the Saxonburg Area
Authority a $6,000 tap-in fee by June, they can literally buy more
time to make the actual connection.
Officials from both townships informed the authority earlier this
month that they would not take any action against customers not
hooked up to the system until Oct. 31, 2007.
The authority will enforce payment of the tap-in fee while the
respective townships will crack down on people who haven't connected
to the system.
If the tap-in fee is not paid by June, penalties and interest will
accrue.
If the actual connection isn't made by Oct. 31, the respective
township could file to place a lien against the property, or other
legal action.
Mary Papik, authority controller, said on Friday officials are aware
that not all of the new customers would be able to tap into the
system by June.
"There's not enough plumbers in Western Pennsylvania," she said.
However, the authority still will begin the billing cycle for new
customers in June whether they're tapped into the system or not.
Since there won't be immediate enforcement by the townships, it's
possible some customers will be paying monthly bills before using the
service.
To ensure the authority budget wasn't adversely affected, the
deadline to connect wasn't extended, only the townships' enforcement,
Papik said.
Since the authority borrowed $34 million from the state to fund the
$52.5 million project, it needs the tap-in fee and monthly service
fee to begin repaying its debt.
In addition to budgetary concerns, the state requires the authority
to set deadlines for new customer payments.
The move also is meant to allow new customers more time to raise the
money needed to pay a private contractor for the tap-in.
New customers each will pay between $1,000 and $2,000 to a private
contractor for the installation of a lateral line connected to the
main sewer line.
Paul Cornetti, authority engineer, said properties having
obstructions such as underground rock will have more expensive
lateral line installations.
Although the authority has a list of about 50 contractors available
to do the work, it is the responsibility of the property owner to
verify the contractor's credentials.
Cornetti said there are no requirements for a name to be added to the
list of contractors.
An authority newsletter, to be mailed in March, will fully explain
these deadlines.
== ==
Reading these stories of financial mismanagement and abuses in this
state irritates the hell out of me. Taxpayer money is pissed down
every drain possible, while they force eminent domain costs on the
homeowner, saying there are no state funds available. You can imagine
the problems this causes for those on fixed incomes who don't qualify
for the paltry 15 FHA tapin grants a year.
Penn Township is also involved with the same project,
so they are also getting hit with these costs.
===Good Value: our property values will increase, so some say. Reply:===
* A property value increase WILL increase my property taxes. Don't
think for a second that the county and school district aren't already
drooling over new assessments throughout two townships.
* A property value increase will only benefit me if I sell the
house for a price that reflects more than the cost of the sewer
installation. If I, or any homeowner in these townships, spent
$10,000 for the installation and tapin, yet the value rises $8,000
related to it, the homeowner loses $2,000 in that regard.
* A property value increase will not necessarily help anyone who
applies for home equity loans or lines of credit, as these are based
on your income at the time of application.