Selectmen are considering whether their own increased oversight of sewer fees should be a matter of policy or written into the town bylaws.
Selectman Carmen DelloIacono has inserted an article on the May 19 Annual Town Meeting warrant that would change the bylaws so that selectmen would have power of approval over the town administrator's handling of sewer regulations.
"A policy is something you can always adjust," said Town Administrator Bill Keegan, who suggested that the policy, not the bylaw, be changed.
DelloIacono took issue with a $250,000 credit Keegan issued to the developers of Legacy Place in exchange for extending the sewer line on Enterprise Drive. The credit reduced the builder's inflow and infiltration fee from $750,000 to $500,000.
Funds generated from that sewer fee are used to maintain the sewer system and reduce the amount of stormwater and groundwater that gets into pipes and the amount of money the town pays for sewage treatment.
"Never could I have foreseen what had taken place on Enterprise Drive, the credit that was issued to Legacy Place for the sum of $250,000," said DelloIacono at a selectmen's meeting last week.
DelloIacono believes the deal could set precedent for other contractors to come forward to try to avoid paying the inflow and infiltration fee. And although the deal netted the town an extra $300,000 in mitigation payments, DelloIacono says that money won't necessarily go toward inflow and infiltration.
"We don't know where the mitigation fees are going to," he said. "It's nice the mitigation went up an extra $300,000, but my concern is the inflow and infiltration fee. I think it's a misplacement of the funds."
A change to the bylaw would ensure selectmen's oversight over issuing credits in the future, beyond the tenure of Keegan and the current board, said DelloIacono.
"Any credits in the future, and this means in the future of the board, if we're not here, in the future, if Bill's not here as town administrator. We're talking about future generations where there's a little bit of meat in there to make sure it doesn't happen again, and that at least if it does it's reviewed by selectmen."
But Keegan conceded that he would consult the board more readily in the future, suggesting that a bylaw change was unnnecessary "In the event that the circumstances present themselves where a credit is requested again, I certainly will present that to the board as a concern," he said.
But DelloIacono challenged the statement. "With that said, Bill, why is it you won't support this? I'm lost on that. If you leave next week for another job, whatever you said just now means nothing to a new person sitting this seat."
Keegan has argued that granting the credit was a unique situation and that the resulting deal benefited the town financially.
Selectman Michael Butler stressed to the public that Keegan's negotiations resulted in a benefit for the town. "The amount negotiated in the end because of these changes was greater than it would have been otherwise. We actually received more benefits in total as a result of the negotiations. The question boils down to how much authority should be given to the town administrator?"
Daily News staff writer Anna Kivlan can be reached at 781-433-8336 or akivlan@cnc.com.
