Some Carver Residents Charged Thousands On Water Bill

CARVER (CBS) – Some Carver families are facing more than $20,000 in water and sewer bills as they are being charged for an upgrade to the town's sewer system.

When the new section of Route 44 was completed a few years ago, Carver town officials saw the roadway as a lifeline to attract new business, and tax revenue to the town.

So, officials built a water system to accommodate the businesses, but the economy tanked, and the development never happened. Now, North Carver homeowners have been stuck with the bill.

"If we didn't have the routes that we have here, we would probably put a for sale sign in front of our house and get out," said Debbie Silva, a homeowner.

WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports.

Silva and others got a betterment fee added to their taxes. She is being charged $368 four times per year, for decades. Her bill is $23,000 and the family never even hooked into the water line.

"We're sitting on $23,000 in betterments," said Debbie Silva.

Only the people in North Carver got stuck with the betterment fee. No one else in town has seen the dramatic increase in their bill.

"A handful of people here in the water district have to foot the whole bill," said Vincent Silva, a homeowner.

The betterment fees, however, aren't etched in stone. Officials are discussing spreading out the $1 million deficit to every taxpayer in town.

"At this point, we can look to see what other options might exist in terms of spreading that around the community more broadly," said Rick LaFond, the town manager.

The original infrastructure project cost about $8 million. The final cost to North Carver residents is about $1 million.