I am responding to the township resident with regards to the letter that was published in the Nov. 22, 2006 edition of The Oxford Leader, under the headline ‘Hooking up to twp. water cost residents more than $10K.?
First, I would like to clear up the misconception that the Water and Sewer Committee has increased the water hook-up fee. Please understand that the committee is a recommending body to the township board. Based on studies and recommendations from our professional consultant the township board made the decision to increase the tap fees to the $6,075 per REU effective Dec. 15, 2005. The actual date of this decision was on Dec. 14, 2005, at the Charter Township of Oxford Board of Trustees Regular Meeting, not Jan. 2006 as stated in the article.
Residents in the township water district, once their wells fail, are required to hook-up to the township system, per the Township Ordinance.
In the Nov. 8, 2006 article ‘Promenade at Waterstone,? several of the Water and Sewer Committee members made comments with regards to the Aragona request.
In the letter to the editor, the Oxford homeowner only listed part of the article leading into my quoted remark. The paragraphs prior to my quote list what was being said at the meeting.
‘The township previously raised its tap fee for the water system to $6,075 per REU in order to help pay off the $17.7 million in bond debt the municipality incurred to improve the system and meet federal standards,? which Dunn described as ‘unfunded mandates? that ‘we had to comply? with.
‘That charge is not going to change as far as I’m concerned,? Dunn said. ‘It’s set in stone. It’s set in stone by the township board to pay off our bond debt. It’s not even negotiable.?
‘Kallie Roesner, a member of the Water and Sewer Committee, noted the charge is based on ‘legitimate research? and actual costs of the additional infrastructure for the water system such as a new 1-million gallon water tower and two treatment plants. That is what it is going to cost each and every REU that comes in to supply that amount of water and that capacity for sewer? she said.? ‘So if we discount for somebody, the other person has to pick it up. The pipe costs money.?
‘In other words, in order to give Aragona the relief he’s seeking to bring in restaurants to his development, homeowners would have to be made to pay more to retire the water bond debt.?
Next, my quote which made reference to the statements above was, ‘I will not ask our residents to pay an increase in anything. They’re paying enough.?
The costs referred to by the township resident, not only included the township tap-in fee, but also included Oakland County water connection permit fees, and the contractor that put in the hook-up. After doing some more research, I also found that there is an application that can be completed for deferment of the Oxford Township Water Tap fee. One of the requirements is that the ‘Owner(s) of the Structure or Premises have a gross annual Income of $30,000.00 or less.?
I hope that this response will clear up any misconceptions. If any resident has questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the members of the Board of Trustees at the township office.
Doleen Behnke
Township Trustee
Water and Sewer Committee member