SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. - After months of speculation, supervisors Monday announced sewer rates will remain the same next year - despite two ongoing sewer projects that officials expected would cause rates to jump at least $15 a quarter.
At a township supervisors meeting Monday, supervisors introduced the 2013 preliminary budget, which - for the first time in years - doesn't include an increase in residents' quarterly sewer bills.
The township's millage rate will also remain unchanged, staying at 14. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. The average residential assessed value in South Abington Twp. is $21,876, meaning the average tax bill is about $306.
Supervisors will vote to approve the budget at a special meeting scheduled for Dec. 27 at noon.
"The residents need a break - they've been asked to pay higher rates over the past years," Township Manager David O'Neill said. "This will at least postpone any increase."
Officials expected the township's sewer rate of $120 a quarter would climb by at least $15, citing the Abington Regional Wastewater Authority's $34 million treatment plant upgrade and the township's estimated $2.25 million project to replace two pump stations with a gravity sewer line.
At a Nov. 14 meeting, ARWA officials approved a budget that calls for a $15.69 quarterly increase per township equivalent dwelling unit. However, supervisors were able to offset the additional cost by using leftover grant money from a project they completed years ago.
As for the estimated $2.25 million project, Mr. O'Neill said officials are in the process of securing a loan that will cover the project's entire cost. However, if bids for the project come back higher than supervisors expect - a possibility, Mr. O'Neill acknowledged - officials will have to revisit the issue.
Supervisors will receive and review bids in early 2013.
"It's a miracle," said Supervisor Giles Stanton, referring to the unchanged sewer rates.
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