The Center Township supervisors continue to request more information about the sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania American Water Company in their collective opposition to the transaction.

Bob Sloan, Chairman of the Center Township Board of Supervisors, said the supervisors voted at a meeting to send a letter to the Public Utilities commission to attempt to stop the sale. Despite a number of BASA customers residing in Center Township, it does not have representation on the BASA board, and administrators had no say in the sale.

“It does impact us; it might be we’re in the neighborhood of 20% of their revenue,” Sloan said. “We have written letters to BASA to try to have a say in the authority.”

BASA’s five-man board of directors voted unanimously at their October meeting to approve a resolution to accept the water company’s $231.5 million offer for the authority, its treatment plant and all other assets, infrastructure and equipment. The money earned from the sale will be split between Butler, which has three members on the BASA board, and Butler Township, which has two members on the board.

The sale is currently being reviewed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for its approval.

Supervisor Don Pringle said the supervisors have submitted right-to-know requests to Butler, Butler Township and BASA seeking information on the sale. He said the supervisors hope to have information in the new year to help lead them to what avenues to take in their opposition to the sale.

“I'm very concerned with a nonprofit with a for-profit entity, and what it's going to do for the township residents,” Pringle said. “We're being proactive; it's not every day that $200 million in sales is going to a privately held company.”

Members of Butler City Council and the Butler Township Commissioners said neither municipality is considering revenues for the BASA sale in their 2023 budgets.

Sloan said Center Township administrators are unsure of how the sale will affect the township and its residents, with no one aware of when the sale will even be official.

However, Sloan also said the supervisors were happy at their Dec. 14 meeting to pass the 2023 budget, which has $2,013,500 in expected expenditures, without having to raise taxes in the township.

“We're projecting to do approximately four miles worth of paving next year, mostly in the housing plans, the development,” Sloan said. “We're looking into grant money to help fund road repair, drainage and erosion issues.”