By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
You can add about 200 homeowners to the list of those perturbed by Red Bank’s recent water rate increase. And they don’t even live in town.
Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre said he’s tried, unsuccessfully, to get Red Bank officials to answers questions and concerns expressed by some of the 200 or so Fair Haven property owners whose homes are served by the Red Bank water utility.
And?
“Not a thing,” Halfacre said.
“The borough of Fair Haven doesn’t get any official notice whatsoever that I’m aware of. It’s unfortunately been very difficult to get any information.”
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna said nobody served by the borough — whether a resident of Red Bank or Fair Haven — is given any special notice outside of their water bill on increases.
However, Halfacre said he “gets complaints all the time” about Red Bank water, usually about service problems, but more recently about the 10-percent rate increase the borough council passed last month in an effort to help balance the budget.
The lines of communication haven’t exactly been clear in the past, either, Halfacre said.
On his blog last week, Halfacre wrote:
“We had written to Red Bank and raised our concerns about increased rates for Red Bank Water, which serves roughly 200 homes on the west side of town, and they have not responded. We will again try to find out some answers to the concerns of those residents and our concerns about the cost of that service spiraling ever upward.”
In an older entry, shortly after Red Bank jacked up the rates, Halfacre said the borough objects to the increase and would advise Red Bank of its position.
Menna said he understands Fair Haven’s concerns and that they are “legitimate” ones.
“We’ll try to address those concerns,” he said.
