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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Jesse White
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White demands Millers Run sewer grant money be passed on to residents
HARRISBURG, Oct. 20 – State Rep. Jesse White, D-Washington/Beaver/Allegheny, today demanded the Cecil Township Municipal Authority use a recent state grant to refund much of the exorbitant tap-in fee charged to customers to hook into the Millers Run sewer project.
At the same time, White said that if the refund is not granted to homeowners, he will ask the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors to request the resignation of the municipal authority members.
In originally financing the project, the authority did not apply for state or federal grant funds or low-interest loans to reduce the cost to the affected residents, applications considered standard procedure for large-scale sewer and water projects. Subsequently, the Cecil Township Authority funded the Millers Run project exclusively through bond issuances, resulting in a tap-in fee for residents of $6,200, a figure much higher, even double in some instances, from those charged to new sewer customers in other projects in the region.
White said the lackadaisical manner in which funding for the project was structured caused an uproar among residents in the Millers Run service area. Their avenues of protest included contacting White, who immediately took up their cause.
Under immense pressure from White and the Millers Run residents, the authority made a request to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for a grant, and a $5 million award was announced in July.
White is concerned that rather than refund the excess portion of the tap-in fee to Millers Run customers, the authority may apply the grant to other projects.
"Using the money for anything other than reimbursing the Millers Run customers for the thousands of dollars extra they paid to tap in would be an unconscionable rip-off," White said. "A refund is exactly what I had in mind when I gave my support for the CFA grant applications last year, not to let the authority pillage the pocketbooks of Millers Run homeowners to finance projects elsewhere."
If the Cecil Township Municipal Authority decides in favor of substantial refunds to Millers Run homeowners, White pledged to work with the authority and Millers Run homeowners to bring it about. At the same time, White vowed that if the authority fails to provide a proper refund, he will ask the Cecil Township Board of Supervisors to ask for the resignation of the authority members, or that they consider abolishing the authority and undertake its duties, including the authorization of a Millers Run refund.
"This $5 million grant is the last chance for the municipal authority to do right by the people affected by the mishandling of the Millers Run project," White said. "They can end the controversy now, or we will continue to fight so that the right thing is done for the people who have entrusted me to stand up for them in office.
"I cannot think of another occasion where the collective will of the people has come through this loud and clear, and one way or another, we will prevail."
White said that within the next couple weeks, he will provide the affected Cecil Township homeowners with additional written details of his continuing work to rectify the unfair tap-in fees.
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