OXFORD — A special town meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, to vote on money matters related to the new wastewater treatment plant on Route 121.

The meeting will be held at the Town Office on Pleasant Street.

The eight articles on the warrant “formalize and create the tools needed to operate the Sewer Department and transition the sewer budget into an Enterprise Fund,” Town Manager Derik Goodine said.

Voters will be asked to approve transferring $250,000 from the Reserve Fund to provide $500 subsidies through a revolving loan fund managed by selectmen. The subsidies will be available to about 60 homeowners hooking into the sewer system.

The plan will allow for a portion of the loans to be forgiven as an incentive to hook into the system and to facilitate repayment of the $250,000 to the Reserve Fund over 10 years.

Goodine said earlier this month that he wanted to replenish the money as soon as possible because there are more people eligible to hook into the system than available seed money for more subsidies.

Voters will also be asked to amend the Sewer Use Ordinance by adding a section to set building permit fees based on the number of equivalent (dwelling) users. The fees would be based on establishments with similar functions or estimated wastewater production. The building permit fee is $1,000 per user and is adjustable by the Board of Selectmen.

Voters will be asked to approve an amendment that will allow the Board of Selectmen to set the sewer rate annually, based on annual expenses and revenues.

It will be calculated on a base rate times equivalent dwelling units, plus a usage fee based on water consumption for residential homeowners and commercial/industrial and governmental users.

For users who do not meter water, charges will be determined by the base rate times the equivalent dwelling unit plus 8,000 cubic feet times the usage fee.

The board is also asking voters to approve a building permit fee schedule for estimating dwelling units to be connect to the treatment plant and for calculating quarterly service fees.

In other action, voters will be asked to: approve quarterly billing for sewer charges, with 7 percent interest charged on bills unpaid after 30 days; allow selectmen to establish annual fees for permit application and inspections; and allow selectmen to establish a revolving loan fund or other program for installations and connections.

Selectmen recently adopted a sewer rate of $610 per year for unmetered water users and a base rate of $450 plus $2 per 100 cubic feet of usage for metered water users, billed quarterly.

In September 2014, voters approved a 47-page sewer connection ordinance that requires residents whose properties abut the sewer line to connect for a one-time charge, plus a fee based on water consumption.

Before the special town meeting, residents not registered to vote may do so.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net

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