Berwick has questions about sewer rate hike, too

Editor's note: This story was filed and placed in Friday's edition before sewer commission Chairman Chris Cooper resigned Thursday.

BERWICK — A looming proposed rate hike by the St Mary Parish Joint Sewage Commission of Wards 5 and 8 is sparking more questions by public officials.
Chris Cooper, chairman of the board, sent letters to Mayor Duval Arthur of Berwick and Mayor Rodney Grogan of Patterson early in August, informing them of a $1.50 increase per 1,000 gallons of sewage outfall processed by the commission’s equipment.
But Cooper did not provide any specific data justifying the increase.
During Tuesday’s Berwick Town Council Meeting, Arthur said he received a “very impersonal letter,” notifying the city of the increase, which would begin Nov 1, 2025.”
Bubba Slaughter, Berwick chief administrative officer, said the city processes 100 million gallons of sewage outfall on annual basis. “If you figure the math, that would cost us an annual $175,000,” he said.
Although Cooper was not present Tuesday at the Berwick regular meeting, Arthur commented on Cooper’s comments at the Patterson meeting, where he was in attendance.
“It sounds like poor management to me,” the mayor said.
“No maintenance, no inspections, renting equipment. ... Frankly I think they should put this increase on hold until they can get the results of a rate study.”
But regardless of what those results are, the mayor said the town cannot absorb any kind of rate increase.
“It’s not something we will cherish doing, but we will have to pass the increase onto our residents, which could amount to a $5 increase per household,” he said.
Mayor Pro-tem and Councilman Lud Henry questioned why the increase, pointing to work that has been stalled on Third Street for months, with equipment not being used.
Councilman Raymond Price called the whole rate hike “a very strange situation.”
Councilman Kevin Hebert questioned, “Will this rate hike fix the problems or will they keep asking for money? What are they going to do different?”
Councilman Colleen Askew asked who received the letter for Bayou Vista. “The parish?” she asked.
Bayou Vista Resident Andree T. Hebert answered from the audience, “Chris Cooper. He is also the president of the St. Mary Parish Water and Sewage Commission No. 2.”
“We have no representation. We have no one,” Hebert said.
A fact check of the Bayou Vista Commission does list Cooper as the president on its website at https://smpws2.com/board-members.
“So he sent himself his own letter. And he serves on both boards — that’s interesting,” Askew said.
After more discussion, which included Berwick Town Attorney Robert Duffy, the council concluded the topic by introducing an ordinance calling for the sewage increase as a formality, to allow for public input at their Oct. 7 meeting.
However, they also asked Duffy to send a letter to each Ward 5 and 8 board commissioner, inviting them to speak at next month’s regular meeting to explain their reasons for the rate hike, (although it remains unclear as to who the current board members of the commission are, other than Cooper).
Henry concluded the agenda item with, “We all are stuck with this. We have to have sewage.”
Meanwhile, in Patterson on Tuesday, the Council also introduced an ordinance asking for the rate hike based on the commission’s request, although Grogan said the move was done so somewhat begrudgingly, explaining that the hike is being imposed without any validity to back it up.
“Also, some in the public feel the hike is necessary because city hall is at fault, and that’s not true,” he said.
During a phone interview, the mayor texted a portion of the intergovernmental agreement that was formed, creating the Wards 5 and 8 Sewage Commission, and that its clear the commissioners are in a conduct violation.
Part of the agreement states, “The commission shall maintain minutes of its meetings, and shall forward to each participant minutes of each meeting within 10 days following each meeting. The actions of the commission, reflected by the said minutes, are automatically final, unless voided or changed by a majority of the participants within 15 days of the mailing of the said minutes, by the commission to the participants.”
Grogan said that to his knowledge, there are no minutes to be found.
“To be frank, I have no idea as to who all the members of this board are,” he said.
When Cooper addressed the Patterson City Council meeting last week, he said the commission’s whole infrastructure system is aging terribly, and that it has been neglected for many years. He said during the small hurricane the parish experienced last year, the commission spent $70,000 renting pumps.
“The simplest way to put it right now, is that we’re broken,” he said at the Patterson City Council meeting.
The ordinance introduced at Tuesday’s Patterson special meeting would set the residential sewer service rate at a flat fee of $18.23 plus $9.68 for every 1,000 gallons after the first 2,000.
Commercial customers would be billed a flat rate of $24.12 plus $12.11 per every 1,000 gallons after the first 2,000.
Both rates would be indexed to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, a widely used measure of inflation.
Introducing the ordinance at Tuesday’s special meeting allows the council to conduct a public hearing and a passage vote on the rate hike at the next regular meeting Oct. 7.