By Teddy Rydquist
Leader Staff Writer
During their regular, monthly meeting on February 10, the Oxford Township Board of Trustees voted, 7-0, to increase the quarterly flat rate for non-metered sewer customers to $110 per Residential Equivalent Unit (REU), beginning with the April 2021 bill.
An REU is a unit of measurement, equal to the average water and sewer usage of one single-family home.
This is the first time Oxford Township has raised their sewer rates in more than seven years, as the rate had been $86 per REU since October 1, 2013. The $24 increase per quarter equates to $8 per month.
As an important note, this increase only applies to residences connected to the township sewer system, not village sewer customers or properties with their own septic systems.
As stated by Supervisor Jack Curtis during the meeting, the township did not want to raise the rates, but several external factors necessitated this decision to keep the sewer fund above water financially. These external factors include increased operations and maintenance costs passed on to the township by the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) and Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Officer (WRC), the 2020 installation of a new sewer line beneath Lapeer Road (M-24) between Oakland Road and Gateway Drive, and prepayment of more than $2.4 million for sewer projects required by the larger drainage districts to which Oxford belongs.
According to the township, since 2011, a ten-year period, township sewer customers have saved nearly $500,000 in interest by the township prepaying its share of the cost for repairs and improvements related to the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor Drain and the Clinton River Water Resource Recovery Facility Drainage District.
Residents with questions regarding this sewer rate increase can contact the Oxford Township Clerk’s Office at 248-628-9787.