GAFCWA sets 2012 budget

"We came through the year in pretty good shape," Kenneth Womack, manager of Greencastle Area Franklin County Water Authority, told the board Monday night. While the authority did use $300,000 in reserves, he said the Madison Street improvement project came in significantly under budget and the purchase of the Antrim Township Municipal Authority water system did not occur, so "we're entering the new year on a good note."

The fund balance stood at $480,000, and the 2012 budget included $1,622,600 in revenue, and $1,618,290 in expenditures.

The package included a one percent raise for employees, the same as approved by borough council for its workforce. Both entities included funding for an assistant borough manager for six months, with 40 percent assigned to GAFCWA. The budget was adopted as presented by Greg Rock, Robert Miller, Jason Gerhart and Rodney Rose.

Engineer Rachel Govelovich submitted a proposal by Gannett Fleming to conduct a water audit to determine why GAFCWA had a 20 percent water loss, referred to as "non-billable water." The amount was calculated by treatment plant staff based on the gallons of water produced versus what was billed. Govelovich said DEP's limit was 20 percent, but in the past Greencastle had been at 40 percent.

She said the cause could be inaccurate meters, leaks, unbilled consumption, unauthorized users or data errors. The board approved the audit, not to exceed $5,000.

The GAFCWA complaint filed against two households in the Hess Development is slowly making its way through the system. The authority on Nov. 7 asked Judge Richard J. Walsh in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas for an injunction and to compel Mary Ann Young, and Thomas and Deborah Moore to connect to public water as required by an Antrim Township ordinance. The parties had until Dec. 13 to respond and they submitted a preliminary objection. GAFCWA now has until early January to respond to that.