Sewer Fees Will Be Based on Use, Not Property Values

Cranford residents can now expect their water bills to be based on usage, rather than on the property taxes they pay.

The Township Committee approved Tuesday night to officially change the township's current sewer billing system to user-based fees, rather than having the fees determined by property values. Under the new system, residents will be charged according to a system of tiers:

• Homes that use between zero and 75,000 gallons of water will be in the first tier and pay $175. Approximately two-thirds of the houses in town will qualify for this first tier.
• Homes that use more than 75,000 gallons of water will qualify for the second tier, and will owe $175 plus an additional 12 cents for each gallon after 75,000.
• The third tier will be made up of Cranford taxpayers who use more than 300,000 gallons of water. This primarily includes businesses.

According to the proposed ordinance, seniors citizens will receive a rebate of $125. The Cranford School District is exempt from the ordinance.

"The vast majority of people in town will be receiving a flat rate of $175," Commissioner Kevin Campbell said Tuesday.

Mayor Daniel Aschenbach said the ordinance was the result of an effort by officials to keep budget increases to a minimum. The alternative to the measure, he indicated, may have been budget cuts that could have meant the elimination of jobs for some township employees.

Neighboring municipalities, such as Clark and Scotch Plains, have instituted a usage-based sewer system. In an effort to learn more about the system as the ordinance was being developed, Cranford Township Attorney Dan McCarthy consulted with several Clark officials and administrators to discuss their sewer service.

Clark charges for sewer service on a sliding scale based on the water bill of each household and residents pay a minimum sewer fee of $225 for zero to 100,000 gallons of water used in the prior year. If residents exceed 100,000, it's two cents for each extra gallon. Clark established and approved the user-based fee in 2006. Since that time, residents have seen a 10 percent reduction in costs.