The Peachtree City Water

and Sewerage Authority has amended its policy on providing sewer

service to new subdivisions.

The change gives the authority the power to determine whether sewer

service is available within 500 feet, or if the service is not available

because of a lack of sewer capacity or it�s too expensive to make

the improvements in the area.

When the policy was originally passed at a special meeting in July,

it stated that sewer service would be considered available to a

property if it is within 500 linear feet of a manhole. But WASA

staff wanted the policy to allow some leeway to make technical judgements,

said general manager Larry Turner.

Turner said sometimes there might not be enough capacity available

to handle a particular subdivision. He added that providing sewer

service to some subdivisions can place a financial burden on the

authority.

The proposed change was to give WASA staff the power to rule on

whether sewerage is �available� to a subdivision. But the authority

decided that it wants to have input when sewer service might be

denied to certain projects. So the policy amendment specifically

states that the authority is responsible for determining whether

the service is available.

In the past, WASA staff

has declined sewer service to only one or two projects, Turner told

the authority. But if a large project applied in the area of Ga.

highways 54 and 74, staff would want to turn it down until the pump

station serving that area could be reconstructed.

�We do have some isolated problems,� Turner said.

The policy amendment was approved unanimously by the three authority

members present at the meeting: Mike Harman, Ted Taylor and John

Williams.

In other business, Turner presented the authority with a presentation

on the plans for the 2000-2001 budget, which begins Sept. 1. Turner

said the presentation was for information only, and the numbers

will be updated by the time the budget is considered at the next

meeting.

The recommended budget includes an increase of 1.29 percent over

the current budget. That includes employee raises of more than 3.5

percent, and benefits hikes, Turner said. �That�s pretty good,�

Taylor remarked.

The budget proposal has $2.45 million set aside for capital improvements,

including new projects such as replacement of the trunk sewer serving

the Wynnmeade area. Turner said that sewer line could be made larger

if the city decides to annex the West Village property nearby.

Also included in the capital improvement plan are several carry-over

projects, such as the improvements to the Hwy. 54 area, where the

authority still has to spend almost $589,000 of an estimated $1.87

million project.

Turner said revenues in fiscal year 2000 will come up $188,000 short

of what was projected in the 2000 budget, largely due to the fact

that a new apartment complex expected to pay $250,000 in tap fees

hasn�t been built yet.

He pointed out, though, that those tap fees could be paid at any

time and might be paid before the fiscal year ends Aug. 31.

WASA also has increased its use of overtime funds to provide 24-hour

staffing, cover vacation time taken by employees and cover employees

on sick leave.

The new budget will be tighter than this year�s and should be watched

more closely, Turner said.