MIDDLESEX TWP — The three township supervisors will attend the next Saxonburg Area Authority meeting to ask about the rate hike being considered by the authority.

Township resident Andy Lutzic told the supervisors at their Wednesday evening meeting that he saw an article in the Butler Eagle detailing the authority’s proposed increase in sewer rates.

The authority, which provides sewer service to much of the township, is considering a $4.12 to $6.17 monthly increase for flat-rate customers and $1 to $1.50 per 1,000 gallons of water used for metered customers.

Lutzic asked the supervisors’ opinion about the increase.

Supervisor Hap Evans said authority officials recently told them that no rate increase was in the offing.

Paul Cornetti, authority manager, said in an interview this morning that a possible rate hike was discussed at the September authority board meeting.

Middlesex has a representative on the authority board as do the other municipalities serviced by the authority.

Cornetti said he doesn’t know who would have told township officials a sewage rate hike was ruled out.

“I can’t answer who or how he (Evans) would have received that information,” Cornetti said.

Don Marshall, vice-president of the supervisors, wondered why more revenue is needed when the new residential development in Middlesex and elsewhere in the authority’s service area is providing revenue through tap-in fees.

When told by borough solicitor Mike Hnath that the potential increases are needed to make payments on the authority’s 2006 bond, supervisors President Mike Spreng wondered why authority officials were unable to predict the amount that would be needed to make the payments.

“Who messed that up?” Spreng said.

According to Cornetti, a rate increase is needed in 2014 to ensure there are sufficient funds for the March 2016 bond payment.

He said the authority has a five-year projection on rates, so the need for one isn’t a surprise.

Cornetti said Middlesex officials wouldn’t know whether the authority has sufficient revenue to avoid a rate hike.

“I don’t think they would be intimately involved with the (authority) budget,” he said this morning.

The last time Cornetti met with township supervisors was two years ago.

He said they discussed the eventual time when growth would offset authority expenses, including bond payments.

“That turning point has not occurred yet,” Cornetti said.

The supervisors agreed they should attend the next authority meeting to discuss with that board their displeasure with the proposed increase.

Evans finally answered Lutzic’s original question.

“Our opinion is we don’t want to pay more either,” he said.

The authority provides service in Saxonburg, plus Middlesex, Penn, Clinton and Jefferson townships.

Eagle staff writer Tom Victoria contributed to this report.