The Victor Town Board updated the town’s one-time sewer connection fee schedule Monday after a public hearing that centered on how new development should help pay for the capacity built into the town’s growing sewer system.
The hearing, which followed a 30-minute educational workshop before the regular board meeting, drew no public comment. Afterward, board members unanimously approved the revised fee schedule as part of a broader agenda that also included recreation facility improvements, budget amendments and several administrative actions.
Why the town changed the fees
The workshop, led remotely by consultant Mark Tarian, focused on updating the town’s one-time connection charges for new users joining the Consolidated Sewer District.
Tarian explained that Victor’s sewer system functions primarily as a collection network, sending wastewater to treatment plants in either the Village of Victor or the Town of Farmington. While customers pay ongoing sewer rents for operation and treatment, the town’s Consolidated Sewer District separately funds the collection infrastructure itself — including pump stations, force mains and other capital improvements — through annual district assessments.
According to Tarian, the issue is one of fairness.
Existing property owners have spent years paying assessments that financed not only current infrastructure but also “excess capacity” intentionally built into the system to accommodate future growth. New developments connecting years later benefit from that reserved capacity despite contributing less — or, in some cases, nothing — toward creating it.
He said the one-time connection fee is intended to close that gap.
“The goal … was to institute a one-time connection charge for properties coming in with a new connection,” Tarian explained, so that new users would stand “close to being on the same footing” as long-time property owners who helped finance the system over the years.
Fees based on connection history
To determine the revised charges, Tarian reviewed 16 years of district assessment data dating back to 2010.
His analysis compared what different categories of properties have historically contributed toward sewer infrastructure:
- Properties that have been connected and developed since the district’s formation.
- Developed properties within the district that were never connected.
- Undeveloped properties inside the district.
- Properties outside the district seeking sewer district extensions.
The updated fee schedule calculates the difference between what existing connected users have already paid and what each category of new applicant has historically contributed. The resulting amount becomes the one-time connection charge.
Tarian emphasized that the schedule should be reviewed periodically because the disparity changes every year as existing customers continue paying district assessments.
“If we just left the schedule as a fixed entity,” he said, someone connecting several years later would receive an unintended financial advantage over someone who connected earlier because existing users continue contributing to the system each year.
Town officials agreed the updates will likely become a recurring exercise as Victor continues expanding.
Supervisor Jack Marren noted the sewer district is expected to continue growing, while town officials pointed out Victor operates one of the region’s more complex collection systems, with 30 pump stations — 27 serving Farmington’s treatment plant and three serving the Village of Victor.
No public opposition
Following the workshop, the board formally opened the required public hearing on the proposed fee schedule.
Town officials noted public notice had been properly published and explained the proposal amended the town’s schedule of one-time charges for new connections to the Consolidated Sewer District.
No residents spoke either in favor of or against the proposal, and the board unanimously closed the hearing before later unanimously adopting the revised fee schedule.
Other business
The board also approved several additional resolutions during the meeting.
Members authorized the purchase of a new gymnasium floor and basketball support equipment for the town recreation facility, amended the 2026 budget to account for American Rescue Plan Act revenue and expenditures, approved operating budget transfers, appointed Brody Stewart as the student representative to the Parks and Recreation Citizens Advisory Committee, and approved the second letter-of-credit release for the Stone Brook subdivision. A proposed lease agreement with the Victor Fire Department was removed from the agenda before the meeting and was not considered.
During board comments, members also praised town employees and neighboring agencies for their response to the July 18 storm, highlighting expanded brush collection efforts and cooperation between the town highway department, village public works crews and neighboring municipalities. Supervisor Marren also recognized Highway Department foreman Kevin Flagg for earning Level 2 certification through Cornell University’s Road Master Recognition Program.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.