11/13/12 - Howell Township appears to be moving forward following the defeat of a millage proposal that would have helped cover some of the municipalityâs bad water and sewer debt left mostly by developers when the economy crashed. Voters resoundingly turned down the 3.5 mill property tax in last Tuesdayâs general election. The same proposal was also rejected by voters in the August primary election. The board had investigated the possibility of applying for emergency assistance through a state loan to help address some of the looming debt but Howell Township didnât qualify for the program because it is not currently running a deficit. Supervisor Mark Coddington indicated the situation âis what it isâ during Monday nightâs meeting and explained there are âno grand plansâ to do anything right now. Worst case scenario, Coddington said the township could end up taking a state loan if a budget deficit exists next year. Although the municipality could raise water and sewer rates again, officials said they are already so far behind; the rates would be way too high to actually do that. Meanwhile, the board did approve a resolution to reduce the water and sanitary sewer connection fees for new users but it will not apply to commercial connections. Fees will be reduced from $4,600 to $3,500 per REU or Residential Equivalency Unit to encourage residential development users. The fees apply until December 31st, 2014 and only to users that purchase at least 50 water and sewer connections each in a single transaction. (JM)
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