Saugus I&I fee to remain unchanged

SAUGUS – Builders hoping to catch a break on the Inflow and Infiltration fee are out of luck.Town officials said, despite a lawsuit centering on four developers and the fees they had to pay, builders will have to continue to pay to tie into the town’s sewer system.Board of Selectman Chairman Donald Wong said, as sewer commissioners, the board would continue on the path it’s on, which is charging developers roughly $1,300 per bedroom to tie into the system.The Inflow and Infiltration fee stems from an Administrative Consent Order the Department of Environmental Protection hit the town with in 2005. Setting up a sewer bank that would require anyone who wanted to connect to the sewer system to first remove wastewater from the system is part of the ACO.The program that was ultimately put into place charged developers $3,300 per bedroom and was based on a 10-1 ratio where 10 gallons of wastewater had to be removed for every 1 gallon they planned to add to the system.However, the DEP set benchmarks. Once the town hit the 250,000 gallon mark it could drop to a 6-1 ratio and later still to a 4-1 ratio lessening the cost to builders.The board didn’t exercise those options until the town had socked away nearly 1 million gallons in the sewer bank.With the ratio at 4-1, however, and the ACO still in place board members said they really have no option but to continue to charge developers despite the lawsuit.Last week a judge sided with four developers who sued the town over the I&I fee calling it an unlawful tax. The fee, however, was at the maximum 10-1 ratio when they paid it under protest.The town will likely appeal the decision but has yet to make any formal motions to do so.Selectman Stephen Castinetti said while it sounds as if the town is still under the consent order he would like to run the issue past Town Counsel John Vasapolli. His concern is that if a judge vacated the entire inflow and infiltration assessment for four developers, “what does that mean exactly? Does it mean the ACO is no longer valid?” Castinetti said personally he believes the board is obligated to charge developers the minimum 4-1 ratio and his colleagues, along with Town Manager Andrew Bisignani, agree.Stephen Horlick said any change would have to come before the board for a vote and Peter Rossetti added that to not charge the fee would actually be in violation of the ACO.Michael Kelleher said he thinks the town is in the clear of any further trouble largely because the ratio is now 4-1.”If it were any larger it would be a big problem,” he said.Bisignani said realistically speaking the town doesn’t have that many builders at the moment but he would be inclined to continue charging the fee.”But the issue will have to be resolved,” he said. “I will try and speak with the DEP to see what is appropriate.”