Vassalboro residents frustrated about an incoming increase to their quarterly sewer bills are demanding answers from the local sanitary district, with some calling on the state to step in.
The Vassalboro Sanitary District, an entity that operates independently from the town, serves roughly 220 customers, Treasurer Rebecca Goodrich said. It completed a multimillion-dollar project in 2020 that pumps wastewater to Winslow for treatment at the Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District in Waterville.
The district held a public hearing Nov. 9, during which customers were told their sewer bills would increase 60 percent in January 2024. A 5-percent increase will begin in January 2025 for the next four years, according to a notice advertising the meeting.
Connection to the sewer line costs $150 now, but it will jump to $240 in January, based on figures provided by the board. Rates for building drainage and water usage, among other fees, will also climb 60 percent.
Residents forced to cover the costs are upset, with some saying the increases are unaffordable and could drive them out of Vassalboro. Some are already behind on their payments, and if a quarterly invoice remains three months overdue, a lien is placed on the resident’s property.
They want a clear explanation for the increases and a solution that will make remaining in their Kennebec County town sustainable, a handful of residents told the Bangor Daily News. Some are counting on Maine’s state representatives and the governor to help.
“I don’t know how it turned into this,” said resident Tara Karczewski-Mitchell, whose sewer bill that remained around $140 per quarter since 2012 jumped to $350 in 2020 and will increase again. “I just want to know: what are we going to do about it now?”
Karczewski-Mitchell wrote to Rep. Richard Bradstreet, R-Vassalboro, on Nov. 10, asking him to request a meeting with Gov. Janet Mills. Bradstreet replied that he was in touch with Mills, who “agreed it is an awful situation and will have some of her people look into it.”
Residents on fixed incomes will take the hardest hit, Bradstreet wrote. During the hearing, there was a conversation about pursuing grants, but the sanitary district’s CEO says they are not usually awarded after a project has been completed, he wrote. Nevertheless, it will be pursued, the state representative wrote.
The upcoming sewer bill increases will cover operating and maintenance expenses, according to a public hearing notice. Funds are also needed to repay debts for the project completed in 2020, though the notice doesn’t specify the amount of debt.
This is not the first time sewer bills have increased, but 60 percent at one time is extreme, said resident Stacy Richmond. She bought her duplex in 2017, and she remembers a $250 sewer bill at that time, she said. Now she pays $547 a quarter, which she anticipates will jump to $850-900 in January.
“I feel defeated,” she said. “It just makes you wonder at what point does it become a 100 percent increase? Is there ever going to come a time that we can breathe?”
The nearly $8 million project was necessary because Vassalboro did not meet the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s standards for levels of phosphorus in sanitation, the Waterville Morning Sentinel reported.
The sanitary district opted to connect to the Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District in Waterville rather than upgrade the three relatively small treatment facilities that it historically operated and that discharged to Outlet Stream, said Maine DEP spokesperson David Madore. The stream flows from China Lake to the Sebasticook River in Winslow.
“It was noted during this process that sewer user rates would increase given the relatively small user base and projected cost of the project,” he said.
The district and town were proactive in moving the project forward and seeking financial assistance, Madore said. It took a few years to put together a funding package, which involved dollars from six federal and state sources, including local tax increment financing.
The package resulted in about $4.6 million in grants and about $3 million in loans to the sanitary district, Madore said.
A board of trustees oversees the sanitary district.
Chairperson Ray Breton blamed climbing sewer rates on the state “pulling a million dollars from us” and mistakes by engineers, which the district paid to fix. He is also angry about the rates, and his six properties in Vassalboro are affected.
The general public is uninformed about how the district got to this point, Breton said. The district held meetings over the years, but few people attended, and now they care because they’re going to be hit with a hefty bill, he said.
“They all wait till the last minute, then come with their heads blown up and complain,” he said. “We have tried to explain that the state forced us to do something, and now we have to follow the rules to maintain the system.”
Resident Ethan Martin, who attended the hearing earlier this month, said the trustees had few answers for concerned residents, and the answers they did provide were convoluted, he said. Most of the attendees were older and some were practically in tears, saying the rate increases could force them to move out of their homes, Martin said.
“It feels like there is no cap on the ceiling,” he said, calling for more transparency. “They can do whatever they want and charge us whatever they want. And if you can’t pay, they put a lien on your home.”
