NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City Council candidate Dennis J. Whitney says he has changed his position on sewer-user fees:
In my announcement as a candidate for the City Council, I stated that I would support a sewer-usage fee before raising property taxes.
Since then, I have had numerous discussions and debates with my campaign chairman, Dr. John Moresi. Based on his 32 years of service on the Hoosac Water Quality District, he is respected as one of the leading authorities on this subject.
Based on these discussions, I have decided to reverse my support of the user fee. This decision is based on many factors on which I will elaborate.
There is no effective way to monitor sewage usage, both in quantity and quality. You cannot meter its usage, or what type of discharge is flowing into the system. Attempting to link this to water usage in unfair. A person filling their swimming pool or watering their garden or lawn would be assessed for this usage. Additionally, water usage does not determine what type of discharge is being released into the system.
There is no way to assure that the usage fee can be dedicated to reducing property taxes. Future administrations could allocate the resources to other options rather than reductions of the property taxes.
Most residents view the sewer usage as another tax, not an adjustment of taxes based on usage.
My basic position of user fees has not changed. If you use it, you pay for it. But since there is no equitable way to administer a sewage usage fee, I have now reversed my position from supporting a usage fee to opposing it.
Submitted by Dennis J. Whitney
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