DUBOIS – Sandy Township is not accepting a settlement offer made by DuBois City to resolve an ongoing issue regarding sewage treatment rates.
DuBois City Council voted 4-1 last month to extend an offer to Sandy Township that could end the debate about what Sandy Township should pay the city to have wastewater treated.
The offer was for $6.92 per 1,000 gallons, retroactive to June 2002. In exchange, the city is ready to drop all claims with regard to tap fees, back payment and other charges. The city also would guarantee capacity to meet the future growth needs of the township.
This deal is unacceptable, according to Scott Wyland, Sandy Township solicitor.
“It appears that this ‘offer’ amounts to a request by the city that Sandy Township drop its primary claim that the city’s rate … is unlawful,” Wyland said in communication with Toni Cherry, DuBois City solicitor.
Wyland said the township cannot agree to drop its claim in the issue.
Wyland also holds that the city’s offer to withdraw claims for tap fees is null because a 2005 ruling by the court said: “The city’s demand for tapping fees is ‘void as it applies to the township’ and that the claim ‘has no merit.'”
Wyland’s letter added: “If we understand the city’s offer, it seems that the city is merely willing to withdraw a claim that already has been denied.”
The city’s proposal to ensure treatment capacity for future growth, Wyland said, is the continuing legal obligation of the city.
Turning down the agreement does not mean that the township is unwilling to settle, Wyland’s correspondence said.
“While any offer to compromise and resolve the matter is welcome, the thrust of the city’s proposal is that Sandy Township withdraw its claim to invalidate the $6.92 rate and in exchange the city will withdraw and waive claims that already have been denied. This is not much of an offer.”
Sandy Township is in the process of developing a counter offer to present to DuBois City next week.