South Abington transfers properties
SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. - Supervisors passed a motion Monday that will help resolve a conflict between two neighboring municipalities, and will provide Clarks Summit with more than $1,000 in additional sewer bill revenues.
At a South Abington Twp. meeting, supervisors voted to turn over about 30 township equivalent dwelling units to Clarks Summit - a move borough officials have been calling for since January.
Though the properties are in South Abington Twp., they are directly connected to Clarks Summit sewer lines, meaning the borough is responsible for maintaining the lines, but - until now - has yielded no profit from those properties.
The agreement will allow the borough to bill the properties, including the Country Club of Scranton, its monthly sewer fee of $47.
"For us to get into a lawsuit with them, it's not worth it," Supervisor Mark Dougherty said. "They are absolutely right. They should be taking care of those lines until such a time we put our own lines in."
While the agreement is a step forward, it does not resolve the entire dispute.
A pass-through fee agreement made between the municipalities in 1995 calls for the township to pay the borough an annual fee of $36.10 per EDU for any homes or businesses whose sewage runs through Clarks Summit-owned sewer lines.
Borough Manager Virginia Kehoe said the rate hasn't been adjusted since the original agreement, and as a result, it no longer reflects the current sewer rates.
She said the municipalities plan to hire an independent engineer in January to re-evaluate the rate.
"We are beyond ecstatic that the township reached out to us with the compromise," Ms. Kehoe said. "It is a big step forward."
Also at the meeting Monday, supervisors passed a resolution to keep the millage rate 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, so the average tax bill is about $306.
Supervisors will vote to approve the 2013 budget at a special meeting scheduled for Dec. 27 at noon.
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