Sanitary sewer rates for customers of the Bradford area are going up.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Bradford Sanitary Authority voted to raise rates by $1.50 a month for customers in 2019.
Sanitary sewer rates will be $33.50 a month next year, approximately half of the $2.90 a month commitment necessary to satisfy PENNVEST loan payments in 2020.
The board’s balanced sanitary budget was approved at $3,515,180.00, and the balanced stormwater budget was $708,000.00 for 2019.
Rick Brocius, executive director, said the increase is necessary “to fund the phase three wastewater treatment plant upgrades. There will be no rate increase for the 2019 stormwater budget.”
Part of that budget will be going toward salaries of employees.
At a recent meeting of Bradford City Council, wages for the Department of Sanitation were approved on first reading for 2019.
Brocius will collect a salary of $106,000; office manager Karla Leone will garner $60,531.77; assistant office manager Lori Johnson will earn $54,590; sanitation operations manager Barry Anderson will earn $66,392.98; and a foreman in the department will earn $25.20 an hour.
A chief maintenance mechanic will earn $24.70, and nine workers will earn from $23.60 to $24.10 an hour; three of those positions are not filled.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board heard an update about a process control class conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency at the Bradford wastewater treatment plant. There were 34 participants, including licensed treatment plant operators from central and western Pennsylvania. In other training, the BSA field crew staff hosted a stormwater equipment class on Nov. 28 and a GIS Mapping class on Dec. 6.
Regarding the phase three plant upgrades, progress in the past month includes the installation of underground electric and communication lines that will connect the treatment plant to the new digesters, vehicle garage and field offices. New sewer lines and manholes are also in progress, and concrete pours continue for the digester floors. Inside work has begun on new restrooms that support a training facility for future classes and public meetings.
The Authority will soon be advertising for a new field crew manager’s position to replace the sewer crew foreman’s position which was vacated this fall through a retirement. The ideal candidate will have a solid background in excavation, construction and underground utilities, and possess education and skills sets relating to technology, finance and management.
