Charleroi could see added revenue from new water authority contract
By Taylor Brown
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Charleroi Borough Council could renegotiate a contract with the Authority of the Borough of Charleroi that could provide the borough with extra spending money to address infrastructure and maintenance for their sewer lines.
Council agreed unanimously last April to enter into an intergovernmental co-operative agreement with ABC for line maintenance purposes.
Charleroi’s sewer lines — and most lines running throughout other communities – are owned by the respective municipality.
Those municipalities are also responsible for paying to maintain the lines.
Though the borough spends less than $10,000 each year on maintenance and repairs, the agreement provides funds to help maintain roads and other street or sewer-related infrastructure throughout the borough.
The 10-year agreement, signed in September 2020, provided the borough $60,000 annually from the authority to offset those costs.
The money can be used for repairs, general maintenance, streets, storm drains or to hire additional street crew workers or other associated costs related to the maintenance of the system.
During a Wednesday work session, council President Mark Alterici said after looking over the budget and other related sewer concerns, he spoke with Borough Manager Joe Manning and council Vice President Jerry Jericho about approaching the authority to perhaps renegotiate to obtain more money for future expenses.
“When we sat down to talk with them, they agreed with our concerns,” Alterici said. “They asked for a fair numbers, and I asked for $120,000 and they agreed.”
The new contract would supply the borough with $120,000 annually instead of $60,000 and would be paid in quarterly payments.
Manning would be responsible for attending quarterly ABC meetings to provide board members with a rundown of how the funds have been used.
The new contract would be in effect through 2031.
While Alterici anticipated council to be on board with securing additional funding, some council members questioned the move.
“I think it is a major decision that should be done with the new council,” Councilman Frank Paterra said. “We have a new council coming on who might have a different outlook on the water authority.”
Paterra brought up ownership of the water authority and lack of payment-plan options for fixed income customers, which Alterici argued is a separate issue.
While Charleroi owns the water authority, council only has the power to appoints representatives to the authority board. They have no legal or decision-making power, nor do they receive any tax revenue.
Paterra then asked why it was brought up in the first place and why a decision needs to be made before new council members are sworn in next year.
Jericho stepped in to explain.
“If we put this off until next year, there is a chance they could say no,” Jericho said. “They could decide they tried to help us, but we put them off, and say no.”
Councilman Paul Pivovarnik asked why a contract that was just signed last year would need to be renegotiated at all.
“I just don’t understand how this all of the sudden came up,” Pivovarnik said.
Alterici said after looking at the numbers and costs associated with potential problems in the future, he thought it would be best to circle back with ABC to see if they might help.
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