Point Boro Continues Water Sewer Surcharge

Water and sewer customers in Point Borough will pay an extra $68 between now and the end of the year, now that the Borough Council has adopted a water sewer surcharge.

The surcharge, continued from last year, will be applied to the third and fourth quarters billings this year. The third quarter bills will be mailed out shortly, with fourth quarter bills to be mailed out later this year.

The surcharge will reduce a $900,000 shortfall in the water and sewer budget by about $300,000, Borough Business Administrator Dave Maffei has said.

The surcharge consists of a $17 surcharge for water and a $17 surcharge for sewer for all residential and commercial users per quarter, Maffei said. Since the Borough is imposing the surcharge for the third and fourth quarters of this year, users will pay $68 for the surcharge for water and sewer for the third and fourth quarters combined. (Commercial users pay per account.)

"Property owners who are eligible for a senior citizen property tax deduction shall be granted a 50 percent discount" on the surcharge, the ordinance states.

The actual water and sewer rates, which will not change, are:  $2.58 per 1,000 gallons of water; $5.15 per 1,000 gallons for sewer and $40.35 ready to serve surcharge quarterly.

The motion to adopt the ordinance, on second reading, passed unanimously, without discussion. Council members Chris Goss and Chris Leitner were absent.