LORDSTOWN Settlement on sewer tap-in fees is expected to be approved

The village itself will also be reimbursed $1.2 million, over many years.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Lordstown sewer customers would be repaid about $330,000 under a settlement expected to be approved today by Trumbull County commissioners.
The settlement, which would resolve a lawsuit between Lordstown and the county commissioners and sanitary engineer, calls for hundreds of Lordstown customers who tapped into the septic system since 1992 to have their tap-in fees -- either $500 or $1,000 -- returned.
Checks could be mailed to customers within a few months after the deal is approved by commissioners and accepted by the federal judge in the case, said Lordstown Mayor Arno Hill. The deal has already been accepted by Lordstown council.
"This is just what we asked for," said Hill. "I think we have hit a home run."
The settlement calls for the sanitary engineer to pay $330,000 to Lordstown, for distribution to customers who tied in to sewer lines built with Lordstown funds since 1992. The "vast majority" of Lordstown residents who tied in since 1992 will be eligible for a $500 or $1,000 refund, depending on the tap-in fee at the time, Hill said.
Unfair
In their lawsuit, Lordstown officials contended that it was unfair for local taxpayers to pay tap-in fees for a sewer system they paid to build.
Funds to repay Lordstown customers will be drawn from Metropolitan Sewer District Funds, the district which covers much of Trumbull County, including Lordstown, said sanitary engineer Thomas Holloway.
"We did it because it was a good deal for the county," said assistant county prosecutor Jim Brutz, who represents the sanitary engineer's department. "It was too good a deal to pass up."
In the lawsuit, Lordstown officials also contend the county should not have had the village pay for bigger sewer lines than village residents required.
A countywide plan called for the larger lines and additional capacity so surrounding areas could eventually be tied in, Holloway said.
The settlement calls for Lordstown to be slowly reimbursed $1.2 million in additional construction costs, $1,000 at a time, as customers in areas served by off-shoots of the Lordstown septic system pay tap-in fees.
Repayment of the $1.2 million -- the full amount asked for by Lordstown in its lawsuit -- will likely take many years, officials say.
That money will go directly into Lordstown's general fund.