Date: Fri 06-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

septic-haulers-Hickey-C&S

Full Text:

Septic Haulers In Arrears Turned Away From Danbury Sewage Plant

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

DANBURY - Six septic haulers, including two based in Newtown, have been banned

from Danbury's sewage treatment plant until they pay their bills.

William J. Buckley, Jr, the city's superintendent of public utilities, said he

mailed letters to six area septic haulers informing them that their privileges

to dispose of septage at the Danbury facility were suspended on August 21 and

will remain suspended until their bills are paid in full.

According to Roosevelt Ewell, the city's assistant tax collector, the six

firms and their unpaid balances are Hickey Septic Service in Newtown,

$132,398; C&S Septic of Sandy Hook, $51,061; Santini Septic Service of

Brookfield, $29,757; New Milford Septic Tank Company, $14,105; Mr Septic of

Bethel, $1,617; and Royal Flush of Bridgeport, $1,251. The charges are for

bills as of July 31 and include interest of one and one-half percent per month

on the unpaid balance for the past year.

The haulers are charged $62.32 per thousand gallons of septage, roughly the

amount from a septic tank at single-family, four-bedroom house.

Danbury Finance Director Dominic Setaro said he discovered the problem on

longstanding unpaid balances when a monthly report which he received "didn't

jibe with the billings." He ordered a special audit which revealed the city

was owed $388,889 in delinquent disposal fees.

Mr Setaro explained that bills sent by the tax collector's office to the

septic haulers did not show the prior balance and the past-due interest.

Because the situation had existed for several years, Mr Setaro said the

decision was made to allow a two-year grace period and charge interest on the

unpaid balance for the past year only.

Despite the lack of information on the bills, many of the 35 or more septic

haulers who use the Danbury facility had accounts that were up to date -

"within 30 to 60 days," Mr Setaro said. In some cases, haulers provided

documentation that showed their payments had not been recorded. Others paid

what they owed when the unpaid balances were calculated.

"Some weren't difficult to track down because one month's bill might be paid

in full three or four months later," Mr Setaro said. "Others were more

difficult because they were making partial payments."

Mr Roosevelt said that one payment of $6,419 sent by C&S wasn't credited to

the firm's account. The discrepancy was corrected when C&S provided a copy of

the canceled check, he said.

Mr Buckley said there was a breakdown in communication between the public

works department and the tax collector's office, which let the problem go

undetected for so long.

"There was a failure beween my office and theirs," he said. "We weren't

notified that the haulers weren't paying their bills so we didn't stop them

from dumping," Mr Buckley said.

Efforts to speak to the two Newtown-based haulers were unsuccessful. Bob

Hickey, owner of Hickey Septic, said he had "no comment" when he was asked

about the shutout from the Danbury plant.

In 1984 Danbury signed an agreement which allowed Newtown haulers to dispose

of septage at the city's sewage treatment plant. Although the haulers received

a permit to use the Danbury facility there is nothing that requires them to

use it.

"There isn't flow control," Mr Buckley said. "Under the statutes, haulers

don't have to come here if they find there's a plant that is closer or

cheaper. They might be able to use Waterbury or Bridgeport, perhaps

Ridgefield. But they probably wouldn't want to use us as a reference."

Mr Buckley said there are at least 25 septic haulers which service the Danbury

area so he doesn't anticipate that customers will have difficulty getting

their septic tanks serviced. About 80 percent of the haulers pick up in all of

the towns, he said.

Four years ago when the state ordered Danbury to upgrade its sewage treatment

plant, the costs were passed along to septic haulers through higher dumping

fees. But this money was collected by the haulers by charging higher rates to

their customers, Mr Buckley said.

"They collected from all their customers and didn't pay us," he said.

"After I sent out the letters on August 12, only one individual from one

septic hauler responded," Mr Buckley said. "That person wanted to talk about

the bill - but there's nothing to talk about.

"If you ran up a $100 bill each month on your Visa card and didn't pay

anything for a year, the fact that the credit card company didn't shut you off

isn't going to absolve you from paying the bill," he said. "The fact that the

haulers didn't pay and we didn't do anything (until now) doesn't exempt them.

We're talking about a considerable amount of money and are looking to recover

that money."

Mr Setaro said that if the unpaid balances are not paid, notices will be sent

out within the next few weeks informing the haulers that the bills will be

turned over to the city's corporate counsel for formal action.