Effective 2009, the new quarterly sewer bill for residents in Texas Township, Cherry Ridge Township and Honesdale Borough will be $115 per quarter. That cost is per dwelling unit, so if someone owns a home with four apartments, the cost would be $115 x 4 or $460 per quarter. 

“The users are being sent letters, notifying them that the Central Wayne Regional (Sewer) Authority now has taken control of all of the assets (actual sewage plant, pump stations, delivery lines, etc.). The letter will also explain the rate structure and the places to send payments going forward,” said Allen Brownell, Regional Authority Vice Chairman.

“What we tried to do was to make the rate changes ...equal across the board. The rate that was chosen is essentially revenue neutral, so that as much money as the sewer authorities were taking in now (2008) ... will be the same with the new rate structure (2009),” Brownell explained following Monday night’s Texas Township Supervisor’s meeting.

The new quarterly rate reflects a decrease in cost for Cherry Ridge and Texas Township users and a 15 percent increase for Honesdale Borough, Brownell said. Texas Township  had been paying $142.50 per quarter per dwelling unit, while Cherry Ridge had been paying $186.
Honesdale Borough Councilman Jim Brennan, also a member of the Authority Board, said Honesdale’s rate will increase minimally from $100 per quarter per dwelling unit, to $115 per quarter.
“Honesdale has a $2 million debt that we’re taking into the Authority. We’re also taking an almost equal amount of assets into the Authority,” Brennan said.  Belonging to the Authority is a big benefit, he said. As an Authority, they were allowed to, “borrow more money from the state (PennVest) at a one percent interest rate,” he said.

“Any future expansion of the system will take place in the townships surrounding Honesdale, which will also keep the quarterly cost down in the future for all those connected to the sewer,” he said.  “If the Honesdale Borough had not formed the Authority and were not allowed to borrow the larger amount of money from the state (PennVest), they would have had to resort to a commercial bond issue, resulting in the Borough paying a larger amount of money over a longer period of time. Even though we’re paying more in the short term, the long term benefits are greater for the Honesdale Borough residents,” he said.