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Belltown, Conn.Vol. I, No. 1
Founded 2026
The East Hampton ❦ Belltown, ConnecticutMercuryAlways Last... To Breaking News!
Late EditionThursday, Sept. 24, 2026
Sixteen minutes to read

Sewer rate stays at $605; grinder pump fee rises to $600, not $750

The council, sitting as the sewer authority, voted 6 to 1

Ayes 6Nays 1

The Town Council, sitting as the Water Pollution Control Authority, voted 6 to 1 on Sept. 1 to keep the sewer rate at $605 per unit, the town's billing measure for a home, for the year that starts Oct. 1.

About 74 properties have grinder pumps, which push sewage uphill into the main line. They pay an extra fee, which goes from $500 to $600. The original proposal was $750. The authority also approved a sewer operating budget of $2,293,999.

Most sewer bills are unchanged this year. Homes with grinder pumps pay $100 more.
Water Pollution Control Authority, Sept. 1, 2026. Watch

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More on Sewer

Sewer bills are due Oct. 1

They go in the mail Sept. 29

Sewer use bills go in the mail Tuesday, Sept. 29, and are due Thursday, Oct. 1. They become delinquent after Monday, Nov. 2.

The bill can be paid in two equal halves. The second half is due April 1, 2027, and there will be no second bill for it: the stub comes with the October bill.

Keep the October bill. The April payment stub is attached to it.
Next ❦ Payment delinquent after Monday, Nov. 2.
Town Manager's report, Sept. 21, 2026. Read the report

Why the Town Council is your sewer board

And why that may change

The Water Pollution Control Authority sets sewer rates and plans the system. Right now the seven council members are the authority, an arrangement one member described on Sept. 1 as "hopefully only intended to last maybe six months. We're past that."

On Sept. 8 the council began discussing a revised ordinance: the council would keep acting as the authority on major decisions, and a separate Water and Sewer Commission would handle day-to-day operations. Members noted that legal counsel would need to review it.

It decides who runs the sewer system day to day.
Next ❦ No date set; the council expects more discussion before an ordinance is drafted.
Town Council minutes, Sept. 8, 2026. Read the minutes

The whole Sewer storyline ▸