Rehoboth Beach commissioners had a wonderful opportunity to partner with Sussex County and the Lewes Board of Public Works. Sad to say, they voted against this opportunity to get $9 million up front for the cost of the necessary upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant with the remaining $11 million coming once all permits had been approved. Besides the city now having to pay for the upgrades, they will also have to foot the bill for the regularly scheduled outfall and plant maintenance which runs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Several of the commissioners wanted more money. There was no warranted reason for asking for more money. It is not like the outfall is a marketable asset. There is no one waiting in the wings to offer more.
Now, their constituents will have to foot the bill to the tune of at least $1,200 per year for the next 40 years per household for the increase in sewer bills, which are already astronomical.
When it was decided many years ago to go with the outfall option, the city paid for 58% of the cost of the outfall, with Sussex County paying for 42%. The outfall was purposely designed with a larger capacity knowing that in the future, the county would need more. Did the commissioners do their homework? By all rights, Sussex County will be able to use 42% of the extra capacity and the city cannot keep them from doing so. After all, they originally paid for it.
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