The Lincoln Township Board of Trustees taken no action on two proposals from St. Joseph Township to resolve the legal battle over use of the Maiden Lane sewer line.

Lincoln Township Trustees met Wednesday in a closed session to consider their next move after St. Joseph Township a week earlier rejected an offer from Lincoln. The board then issued a statement Thursday, saying it “seeks an agreement based on verifiable operating costs, and as accurate of determination as possible on sewer flow which includes any infiltration and inflow.” It says such a breakdown is “essential to ensure costs are allocated appropriately, particularly for large customers and wholesale customers like Lincoln Charter Township.”

Lincoln Township Trustees continue that “Lincoln Charter Township expects to pay its fair share as determined by using actual data, not estimates or arbitrary numbers.” Additionally, Lincoln Trustees say they do not agree to adding an inflation-based adjustment each year for 30 years to use the line, as proposed by St. Joseph Township, because, trustees want the price paid to be based on the actual cost of operation.

The statement says “because Lincoln Charter Township shares ownership of the Maiden Lane Sewer line, the operating and maintenance costs directly attributed to those customers and this infrastructure should clearly be a critical component of any long-term agreement.”

Lincoln Township Trustees conclude that they “will be working to update our data on customers connected to the infrastructure, and continue to strive for an agreement within the legal process.”

The dispute over the Maiden Lane sewer line goes back to 2023, when St. Joseph Township moved to terminate a 50-year-old agreement that allows Lincoln Township to use the sewer line free of charge. Negotiations over maintenance of the line then began, but have so far resulted in no new agreement.

It looks like the negotiations will continue.

The full statement from Lincoln Township is below:

“The Lincoln Charter Township Board of Trustees (Board) met to consider the terms of potential settlement of current litigation with St. Joseph Charter Township on the Maiden Lane Sewer agreement. The Lincoln Charter Township Board took no action on the two proposals offered by St. Joseph Charter Township.

The Board seeks an agreement based on verifiable operating costs, and as accurate of determination as possible on sewer flow which includes any infiltration and inflow. This breakdown is essential to ensure costs are allocated appropriately particularly for large customers and wholesale customers like Lincoln Charter Township. And because Lincoln Charter Township shares ownership of the Maiden Lane Sewer line the operating and maintenance costs directly attributed to those customers and this infrastructure should clearly be a critical component of any long-term agreement.

Lincoln Charter Township expects to pay its fair share as determined by using actual data, not estimates or arbitrary numbers. The Board is not pre-judging the costs to Lincoln Charter Township, in fact they could be higher or lower than the current proposals. Whatever the costs, they must be based on an actual methodology that provides full transparency to both communities. Further the Board is not trying to “negotiate” this data for lower costs. Instead, the Board seeks a verifiable process that produces actual costs so that those costs can be allocated between the two townships accurately and fairly.

Additionally, the Board disagrees with adding an inflation-based adjustment each year for 30 years as proposed by St. Joseph Charter Township. Adding inflation-based adjustments to non-verified costs only increases any errors, particularly in the context of a 30-year agreement. Instead, the costs both townships are responsible should be based on actual costs, which will necessarily include inflationary increases.

These concepts are not new to this discussion. The board and the independent mediator have raised this issue throughout the process. These concepts are also not novel or unusual in the public utility rate making arena. Actual costs (not estimates) are required to be used to determine rates and charges. There is simply no reason to avoid using actual data which is the fairest measure for all users.

The draft agreement has a thirty (30) year term. The Board must complete and fulfill our due diligence on behalf of our taxpayers and future board members since it is a long-term legacy expense for the community. The Board will be working to update our data on customers connected to the infrastructure, and continue to strive for an agreement within the legal process.”