Warren, Trumbull Co. reach settlement in lawsuit

WARREN

A settlement reached Wednesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court will result in a sizeable increase in the amount the county will pay for treatment of wastewater from Champion and Lordstown, but county officials say they won't know how much until they decide how widely to spread the increased costs.

The resolution, which officials discussed as a news conference today at the Log Cabin on Courthouse Square, pays Warren about $1.5 million more per year and increases the rate from about 30 percent of what Warren customers pay to 75 percent. But Gary Newbrough, deputy county sanitary engineer, said the amount it will raise county sewer rates will depend on whether all county sewer customers see an increase or only customers of the Metropolitan Sewer District, which covers about 60 percent of the county.

The agreement ended a "Hatfield and McCoys" type of feud that simmered for more than a year between Warren and county officials after Warren officials demanded that the county pay 100 percent of the rate Warren residents pay.