Unlike Neighboring Towns, Cranford Opts Against Use-based Sewer Fee

When Cranford residents receive a separate bill for sewer use in the next few weeks, the amount will be pegged to their assessed property value-- just as it was when it was included as part of the municipal tax bill.

But most neighboring towns that have separated their sewer bills from their municpal tax bills charge their residents and commercial property owners based on usage – or some combination of a flat fee and a use-based fee.

Mayor Mark Smith has said that while this may be a possibility for Cranford residents in future years, the township was under a deadline this year that did not allow the Township Committee to set up a use-based system.

"Maybe a future Township Committee would take time or have time to look at a structure that made most sense for Cranford," Smith said. "But this is a good first step. They're paying a fee they've paid for years and years and years, and it's calculated identically to the way it's been calculated for years and years and years. The totals are the same."

Last week, we reported on the following nearby municipalities: Clark and Scotch Plains charge a use-based fee; Rahway charges its residents based on zoning classification and commercial properties based on usage; Summit charges a flat fee; and Springfield is in the midst of switching to a flat minimum that increases with increased water use.

Assessing a use-based fee generally involves creating a utility and gathering data from the local water provider.

In 2006, the neighboring township of Clark became the first area municipality to create a sewer utility. With data from New Jersey American Water, the township does its sewer billing in house. The process was not a complicated one, according to Mayor Sal Bonaccorso.

And while no one wants yet another bill, no one can say that the system is not a fair one, he added.

Smith was heistant to follow Clark's lead, saying that even if billing were done in house, it would still cost the township.

"Whenever you have people doing something, there's a cost," he said. "It may not be an obvious cost if they're on the town payroll, but it's not free."

In Rahway, sewer billing is done through the city's water provider, United Water. Since the 2008 creation of the sewer utility, residential and commercial sewer bills shifted from being part of the municipal tax bill to being a separate line item on the water bill.

"It was relatively seamless moving over," said Mayor James Kennedy, who sent a letter to all residents explaining the shift. "A good reason for that was that we were billing through an existing utility."

Back in Cranford, Commissioner Dan Aschenbach remains critical of the sewer fee, calling it "a gimmick to avoid a serious review of government."

"Most municipalities in the United States that separate sewer out of the tax bill run local sewer utilities that have capital requirements," he said. "Cranford does not have a utility but an accounting gimmick. If it were a utility that had as its focus improvements and conservation measures, I might consider its value."

Smith said a utility would create an extra layer of bureaucracy, something he wanted to avoid.

He reiterated that while some may be upset about the additional bill or perhaps call it unfair, sewer fees would remain the same as they had been prior to the shift in billing.

"When something changes, that's when attention is paid to it, and that's when flaws are magnified," he said. "When there's scrutiny put on it, there's always dissatisfaction, a realization there can be a different way of doing things."