Northport residents upset over sewer fee

Northport Village residents and business owners complained bitterly at last night's board meeting about a new water usage fee adopted in August. The fee appeared in recently received bills for service in 2009 and 2010.

The fee, called a "sewer rent," is paid by those who receive sewer service and does not replace residents' water bills or the part on residents' property-tax bills that support the sewer system.

Until this year, all Northport Village property owners, whether they are on the sewer system or maintain a private septic system, equally supported the system through property taxes, village officials said. Deputy Mayor Henry Tobin, who proposed the idea of a sewer rent, said it's only fair that those who directly benefit from the sewer system bear more of the cost.

"It increases fairness," Tobin said in an interview. "Everybody benefits from having a sewer system because it keeps the harbor clean. However, some people, like myself, benefit more directly because we're on the sewer system so we should pick up more of the cost."

But affected property owners complained they have been overcharged, that people who should be billed were not, and vice versa, and that the bills arrived without explanation.

"This has been done so unprofessionally," said Effie Huber, who has lived in the village for four decades. "I'm speechless."

Trustee Tom Kehoe said the board is aware of the issues and will correct them.

Former Mayor Pete Panarites, who owns a luncheonette, said some business owners are considering a legal challenge and suggested the board just charge a flat fee.

The board set March 15 as the last day to file an appeal and extended until June 1 the date to pay fees without penalty.

The 660 properties with sewer service will pay 25 percent of the system's cost, about $195,000 for fiscal 2009-10. The amount charged is based on water use over 12 months, compared with the total water use of all properties connected to the system.Residential properties get a 10 percent discount to account for water that does not go into the sewer system, such as lawn watering. The Suffolk County Water Authority provides water use measures.

The rent also includes an additional 2.5 percent to cover refunds for granted adjustments.

Tobin said the board has discussed the issue since December 2009 and always planned to implement it starting on the fiscal year that began March 1, 2010. Tobin blamed the delay in getting the bills out on computer software problems and on reconciling village property records with those of the Suffolk County Water Aut