Taxpayer Alert
Stratford Residents Deserve Much Better
It is time for every single Stratford resident to become aware of the situation concerning the sale of the Stratford sewer treatment plant. Once residents become engaged they will inevitably come to the sad conclusion that their elected officials have not represented their best interests.
Again the WPCA aka Town Council voted to increase the Sewer fees to $450 /household with the weak excuse that it is still lower than Trumbull. In just a few short years Stratford residents have seen their sewer treatment bills go from $280 to $450 – a 61% increase. Annual sewer rates in Milford are $298.44 and Shelton $198.00; both have sewer facilities and infrastructure needs similar to Stratford. Common sense says Stratford can do better. Maybe those Stratford council members hope to push the public to sell the plant – who knows?
A key reason our sewer fees are so much higher is because they are based on grossly inflated costs. During Mayor Harkins’ tenure the Town Council has decided to charge the WPCA $600,000 for use of the land the treatment plant sits on, $300,000 for bookkeeping and administrative expenses, and $500,000 for public works services. The effect is to transfer $1.4 million annually from town expenses to sewer expenses. This means that town residents are now paying higher sewer fees instead of property taxes. The net effect is a second tax on Stratford residents. Your elected representatives may argue that it makes no difference, but remember that property taxes are deductible while sewer fees are not.
Another thing that should concern every Stratford resident is the hundreds of thousands of dollars expended on legal fees. Each year from 2013 – 2016 almost $500,000 has been added to the WPCA budget Contractual Services line that we now learn was for legal expenses. This year the Harkins administration has waged a costly court battle to prevent citizens from exercising their right to vote in a referendum on the sewer sale, and lost every court case and appeal along the way. Scratch below the surface, it gets worse. By what authority was that money spent? Neither the Town Council nor the WPCA voted to authorize the expenditure of these funds. How can the town or the WPCA proceed with court actions that were never authorized by a vote of the people’s representatives?
It is time that the Harkins administration stood up to protect the residents of Stratford. Mayor Harkins and his council members are responsible for this mess and must be held accountable. Selling a significant town asset for pennies on the dollar to plug a budget hole is not the solution. The Town Council should set a date for the people of Stratford to vote on this issue and immediately release all documents so residents can inform themselves. That is the purest form of democracy, and it is a shame that so much time, effort, and the people’s money has been wasted trying to prevent it from happening.
Stephanie Philips
3rd District Town Council Member
Submitted to Stratford Star, and CT Post. 6/28/2015
Reprinted here with no edits and no one’s permission.
