Northport Raises Harbor Circle Sewer Fees

The Board of Trustees approved a $350 annual sewer use fee increase for the residents of Harbor Circle in Centerport on Tuesday to align with increasing sewage plant maintenance costs.

"In 1979 the fee for Harbor Circle was $200 a house," said Mayor George Doll, "since '79 the cost of operating the sewer plant has risen six times, so in actuality we could justify charging these people $1,200 a year. So they don't go in to major shock -- they're going to be in a little bit of shock, I'm sure -- we felt that we would raise the fee, which is now $400, to $750."

Harbor Circle was hooked up to the Northport sewage system in the late 1960s and paid only $100 per home, per year for use of the sewer until rates were raised for the first time in 1979. In 2007, sewer usage fees where raised to their current rate of $400.

The new rate goes into effect on March 1, 2012.