The $184 annual fee Clark Township residents now pay for sewer service will be increased to $288 to support operations and maintenance of the system and develop a replacement reserve. The 56.5% rate hike will be reflected in quarterly payments of $72 beginning in December. Also, a $53 increase per year has been assigned to those living in the special assessment district after an amortization error recently was discovered by a township-hired rate expert. The special assessment cost will begin to decrease next year until 2030, when it is paid off.

The rate hike comes as no surprise to residents, who were invited to attend a public hearing on the matter in early August.

A 3% yearly increase to address inflation also was recommended by rate expert Tom Traciak of ACI Finance of Mason during the public hearing.

The new rate of $72 per REU (residential equivalency unit) per quarter was approved by the township board Thursday, September 18. Residents had been paying $46 per REU per quarter.

Resident Joe Eger, who attended to public hearing and Thursday's meeting, expressed his concern over the potential for wasteful spending with more money coming into the sewer fund, and said the hike in fees was to cover a projected shortfall in the sewer debt retirement account.

"My concern is that operating budgets may just go out the window," he said. "You've got the funds available, so let's go get this, let's go get that."

The increase was to cover operations and maintenance, said Treasurer Katie Carpenter, and any interest from the fund balance would be used for debt retirement. The operations and maintenance fund for the sewer, she said, shows a deficit. The rate hike is to move the fund to the black and allow for funds to cover any repair and replacement of components in the system, including pumps.

"We also, as trustees of this board, need to make sure future boards protect that fund balance," she said.

Clerk Cathy Nordquist said the board needs to educate future board members about the sewer fund.

The board also agreed to review the REU schedule, which shows the allocation of the township's 1,241 REUs. Residential REUs total 836, while businesses, including hotels and campgrounds, make up the remaining 379 REUs. Les Cheneaux Community Schools has 86.25 REUs and has been paying about $15,800. The rate hike will cost the schools approximately $9,000 a year more.

A hotel room counts as 0.5 REUs and a resort cabin with a kitchen and laundry is 1.25 REUs; one REU is charged to a a single family home.

Business owners have questioned their number of REUs and the impact the increase will have on their business, said Mrs. Carpenter.

"In checking REUs for people," she said, "there were a few that I found that I felt were a little high on the business end. I think we need to review that REU schedule."

"But we can't discount those," she said, "The one thing we can do is review the REU schedule to make sure people are being charged fairly."

Township board members agreed to have the Sewer Advisory Board review the schedule before the December billing.

Meeting with the Sewer Advisory Board will be Mrs. Nordquist and Supervisor Linda Hudson, who also is on the Sewer Advisory Board.

The last time the REU schedule was reviewed was in January 2007.