DEERFIELD — Some residents have expressed concern about the wording of a special town meeting warrant article regarding Deerfield’s sewer system.
Article 6 asks voters if they agree to revoke a section of town bylaws and allow “funding capital improvement of the public sewers through means other than assessment of sewer use fees …”
Residents John Paresky, Jack Davey and Jeff Upton attended Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting for a public presentation of town meeting warrants and said they dislike how Article 6 is written. They worry passage of the article could force them to pay for a sewer system they don’t use, through tax money. But Town Administrator Douglas C. Finn says they are misinterpreting the wording.
Finn said the article simply defines the scope of the conversation that can take place. A specific motion regarding the sewer system will be made on the special town meeting floor.
The special town meeting and annual town meeting are scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 25. The annual town meeting will begin after residents vote on the special town meeting’s eight articles, pertaining to the current fiscal year.
Finn told The Recorder the sewer system was funded through sewer fees until about 15 years ago, when a resolution was passed at town meeting mandating that only user fees finance the system. The previous arrangement was deemed unfair by residents whose homes were not connected to the sewer system. But Finn said the way the sewage bylaw is written could keep the town from receiving grants, loans and monetary gifts to cover sewer expenses. He said the intent of Article 6 is to open the door to these possible money sources.
Finn stressed passage of the article will not affect property taxes.
But Paresky, Davey and Upton said they fear revoking the existing bylaw will make the town vulnerable to a new one that re-incorporates taxation into the sewer system and charges nonusers for a service they don’t receive.
Davey told The Recorder it is still unclear how the town’s two wastewater treatment plants will be upgraded. He said revoking this bylaw is premature because there has not been an in-depth discussion about how much upgrades will cost.
The villages of South Deerfield and Old Deerfield each host a treatment plant. According to the town’s website, they were built in 1971 as a result of the Clean Water Act.