Flushed? Port Chester Begins Sending Out Separate Sewer Bills

Port Chester's 5,000 residences and businesses have begun receiving sewer usage bills that have been separated out from their property tax levies, according to The Journal News.

While the new bills appear to be a new tax, village officials stress that homeowners and businesses are generally not paying more than they were, but that the new billing system is more equitable.

"They're not really paying more, they're (just) seeing the cost being highlighted," Village Manager Christopher Steers told The Journal News' Cara L. Matthews.

Called the Sewer Rent Program, the initiative moves "the cost of sanitary sewer upgrades, repairs, and maintenance away from property taxes and more fairly apportions the associated costs through a user fee by capturing all users of the sanitary sewer system," village officials announced in the spring.

Port Chester Mayor Neil Pagano called the program an "innovative" public-private partnership between the village and United Water, which is providing customer service.

“Although this is not new across the country, we are breaking ground in New York State," said Pagano in a statement. "Based on my discussions with other municipal officials in Westchester County, the Village is leading the way.”