Sewer Rent Frequently Asked Questions

Sewer Rent
 

On March 10, 2020, the Board of Trustees adopted Local Law 2-2020 establishing a program to more equitably distribute the costs of maintaining and operating our Village’s sanitary sewer system. Prior to the establishment of the Sewer Rent Program, expenses related to repair and maintenance of our sanitary sewer system were paid for through the General Fund. As we contend with an aging system that continues to demand significant investment for repairs and maintenance in order to keep our community clean and healthy, it is important to distribute these costs across all users of the system. The benefits of the Sewer Rent Program include the following:

Taxpayer savings: 40% of Dobbs Ferry property is tax exempt which means a significant portion of the Village does not contribute to the funding of our public services. By establishing a separate sewer fund, all users of the system share the costs and contribute to the repair and maintenance of the system.   

True cost transparency: The costs for sewer maintenance and repair were not previously obvious to the average taxpayer. When a sewage line unexpectedly breaks, the costs for repair can be in the tens of thousands while complete replacement can run into the millions. The sewer fund allows for better planning, dedicated capital project allocation, and clear expenditure reporting under the separate fund.

The fees are based on use: The fees are charged based on water usage which means a small household that does not use much water, and therefore uses the sewers less, will be paying much less than a large institution that has much greater impact on our system. This fee structure is both fair, and it incentivizes responsible water use and encourages conservation.

Why this matters:

Poorly maintained sewers result in basement backups, raw sewage overflows, and cave-ins with all associated risks to public health and our environment. It is in everyone’s interest to have an adequately maintained, adequately funded sewer system. The separate sewer fund allows us to share these costs across the entire system.

Sewer Rent FAQ

Q. What is Sewer Rent?

A. Sewer Rent is a schedule of annual charges established and imposed by the Village of Dobbs Ferry for the use of operating, maintaining, repairing, replacing and purchasing equipment for the sanitary sewer system. 

Q: Who pays Sewer Rent to the Village?

A: All real property owners in the Village of Dobbs Ferry except those who use a septic or other system not connected to the sewers maintained by the Village.

Q: How much are Sewer Rent fees?

A: The sewer rent fee in 2020 is ~$1.36 per hundred cubic feet of water used based on historic usage provided by Suez. While it is difficult to give an average rate because water use varies considerably between households and our largest institutions, we can give an example: a single family home of 2000 sq ft for a family of five in Dobbs Ferry will pay around $144/ year or approximately $12/month in 2020 based on their historic water usage. Households that use less water pay less. Large institutions pay much more. If your sewer rent fee is out of line with these estimates, it may indicate that your household has a water leak or other usage concern worth investigating.

Q. What does the Sewer Rent fee include? Is the Village now responsible for my house's sewer lines connecting to the Village lines?

A. No. The Sewer Rent program only applies to the elements of the public sanitary sewer system maintained by the Village of Dobbs Ferry. The Sewer Rent fees will pay for the repair, maintenance, replacement and associated costs pertaining to the public sanitary sewer system maintained by the Village. The responsibility of the laterals/building sewer lines that run from private properties to connect to the Village system remain the responsibility of private property owners. The purpose of the program is to more fairly distribute the cost burden of repair and maintenance of the system we all use collectively across all users of the system, including the 40% of tax exempt properties that had not previously been contributing to the public system. 

Q: What if our household is not using the Village sewer system? We have septic? Or our pipes connect directly to the County pipeline? 

A:  Households that do not use the Village sewer system should fill out the exemption form which can be found here. Please submit the form to Jennifer Dorman in the Department of Public Works: jdorman@dobbsferry.com.

Q: If my house uses a septic system, and I obtain full exemption from Village Sewer Rent fees, do I still pay the Town sewer taxes? 

A. The Village Sewer Rent program only applies to the public sanitary sewer system maintained by the Village of Dobbs Ferry. The Town collects taxes for the County, and those payments pertain to the sewer system repair and maintenance outside of the Village. For questions about those taxes, you can call the Greenburgh Tax Department at (914) 989-1550.

Q. In the summer, I water my lawn. That water does not go into to the sewer system. This seems unfair.

A. If you have a lawn irrigation system or a swimming pool that can be accounted for by a sub-meter, you can apply for a partial exemption up to 10% of the Sewer Rent fee. Sewer Rent fees are based on water consumption because the fairest way to fund the repair and maintenance of a system is based on use. The large institutions will pay much, much more than the small homeowner. This also, by nature, encourages conservation of resources. 

Q: I am a tenant, not a property owner. Will I be billed by the Village for sewer rent?

A: No, the property owner is responsible for paying the sewer rent under the law.

Q: Does my landlord have the right to require me to pay the sewer rent instead?

A: Your landlord has the right to seek reimbursement from a tenant. However, the terms of your lease governs whether the landlord can seek reimbursement right away. When it is time to renew the lease, the landlord may add a provision for the reimbursement. The amount can be based on actual water consumption (if the leased space is separately metered) or can be a proportional share applicable to your leased space.

Q:  How are households billed?

A: We have contracted with a third party billing company called Minol USA. Bills are issued on a quarterly basis. The first billing period began in June 2020 with the first bills issued in October 2020.

Q. Who do I contact if I have questions about my bill? 

A: For questions related to your sewer rent invoice, account balances, assistance with accessing your online account or to make a payment for your sewer rent, please contact our customer service center at 1-888-876-1672.  Agents are available Monday – Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.  Access your online account any time by visiting DobbsFerryNY.myutilitydirect.com.

If your question has to do with the quantity of water you are being billed or to report a service begin or end date you will need to contact SUEZ Water at 1-877-266-9101. 

To report change in property ownership, you must contact the Village. 

This form includes information about how to read your bill and understand the information contained therein.

Q. How long do I have to pay the Sewer Rent invoice? 

All bills shall become due and payable without penalty within thirty (30) days of issuance. 

Q. Do you offer paperless billing? 

Yes, you can sign up for electronic statement delivery notifications by visiting DobbsFerryNY.myutilitydirect.com.  You can sign up directly from the home page or if you have a registered online account then login and select ‘Go Paperless’ under Account Options.

Q. What options are there to pay my Sewer Rent invoice? 

• US mail – Your sewer rent comes with a remittance address that has our payment address printed on it. Insert your payment and coupon with the address showing inside the supplied envelope. Ensure that you write your account number on your payment form.
• Phone payment – Contact our customer service center at 1-888-876-1672, Monday – Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST to pay with a credit/debit card or electronic check. 
• Online – Visit DobbsFerryNY.myutilitydirect.com anytime to make an online payment with a credit/debit card or electronic check.  You can make a payment from the home page or from your registered account. 
• AutoPay – Visit DobbsFerryNY.myutilitydirect.com  to sign up for our AutoPay service which allows your bill charges to be automatically drafted from your registered account when due. 
• Online bill pay – Send us your payment electronically directly from your bank or other financial institution.  Following their site specific instructions:
• Create or Add a new Payee.
• Search or Manually Enter:  Dobbs Ferry Sewer Dept.
• Enter your 14-digit sewer rent account number found on your statement. 
• Include all zeros to ensure your payment is applied to the correct account.  Enter our payment zip code:  19178-6987  
• Once prompted Select or manually enter the following address: 

Q. What happens if I am late in paying my Sewer Rent invoice?

A late fee of five percent of the total will be charged for any bill that remains unpaid after 30 days from the date of billing. 

An additional penalty of one percent shall be added for each succeeding month or any portion of a month in which the sewer rent continues to remain unpaid. 

Annually, on May 1 of each year all unpaid sewer rent charges penalties and interest along with associated administrative costs will be placed as a lien against the real property owner and appear as a charge on the tax rolls to be so collected and enforced in the same manner and at the same time as may be provided by law for the collection and enforcement of village taxes.

Q. I do not agree with the amount of my Sewer Rent invoice.  Can I challenge the invoice?

System users' Sewer Rent bills are calculated using the actual water consumption that is billed by your water provider, SUEZ Water.  If you would like to contest the amount of water used, you will need to contact SUEZ Water at 1-877-266-9101. If an adjustment is made, SUEZ will notify us and that adjustment will be reflected on a subsequent Sewer Rent invoice.  

A sewer user may request review and adjustment of sewer rent for any given six month period based on proof that certain measured water consumption during the period did not directly impact the sewer system.The sewer user may make an application to the Village Administrator or her/his designee for an adjustment.

Please use this Sewer Rent exemption request form. Submit the form to Jennifer Dorman at jdorman@dobbsferry.com.

The following are conditions of exemption: 

1. Full exemption, not connected to Village sewer. Attach (min. 2) of following documents;

• Site plan showing private sewage system
• Bills for septic system maintenance
• Letter from licensed engineer, describing private sewage system, with professional seal affixed
• Village will need to examine property to verify all claims.

2. Partial exemption, portion of water usage not entering sewer (eg., irrigation system or swimming pool)

• Lawn irrigation system will need to be permitted by the Village, meeting all code requirements
• System must have approved backflow valve installed.
• System must have private secondary water meter installed on water line suppling only the irrigation system and the Village must have access to monitor usage for a minimum one season.
• Maximum reduction for a Residential property will be 10%
• Maximum reduction for a Commercial property will be 20%
• Maximum reduction for a Golf Course or similar approval 30%

Q: Where does the money go?

A: All Sewer Rent revenues will be deposited into a separate account designated “Sewer Fund,” and used in accordance with Local Law 2-2020.