By Megan Kelley
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
Oxford Twp. — At its meeting on June 11, the Oxford Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve increases in the township’s water and sewer rates.
According to Trustee David Wagner, the request to increase the rates came after much discussion among the Water and Sewer Committee, which, with the help of representatives from Oakland County, it was determined that the rates would need to increase.
According to Wagner, the township’s expenses are expected to increase by approximately 6% for the upcoming fiscal year. The motion presented and approved reflected an increase in water usage by $3 with the late fee increasing from $32 to $35 per 1,000 cubic feet. The minimum water bill will also increase from $48 a quarter to $52 a quarter. However, the water bond and debt service amount will stay the same at $52.50 per quarter.
This increase will go into effect starting in October of this year.
Additionally, the board approved an increase in sewer usage rates.
“Our sewer operating, maintenance and disposal fee expenses are projected to increase by around 10% for the upcoming year,” Wagner said.
The quarterly rate is set to increase from $41.50 to $44.50 with the sewer disposal increasing from $92.50 to $104.50. The next change in sewer billing amounts to an increase from $155 per quarter to $170 per quarter, Wagner said.
Commercial sewer customers will see an increase from $55.11 per MCF per quarter to $61 per MCF per quarter.
The sewer increase is set to go into effect in January of next year and will be effective for the April 2026 quarterly bill.
Oxford Township Supervisor Jack Curtis emphasized that the rate increase did not come from Oakland County and added that the township does not make money on its sewer rates.
“We don’t make a profit on our sewer, there are hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds that are coming from the GLWA (Great Lakes Water Authority) and our sewer is treated by the Detroit system. It travels all the way down there. Our flow rate is measured and we are applied a rate for our sewage. We take that sewage rate and we break it down by the number of people that are using it, how they use it, and then that bill is dispersed. The rates – we have no control over. We are billed for our sewage a true up and right down the line. So, this is what it cost us to send our sewer to the sewage treatment plant,” Curtis said.