With concern mounting about what higher sewer bills for home builders would mean for the local economy, the region's sanitation district is looking to shift some of the burden from developers to homeowners.

Since a state board approved new treatment requirements last year, the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District has said big increases are needed in service rates for existing homes and hookup fees for new homes.

District officials now say the projected increase in hookup fees – from $7,450 to $39,300 per house in about eight years – is too high.

They've heard from area politicians and developers, who complain that the fees will block any chance of future recovery in the housing market.

"Those impact fees are so high we think it would wreak havoc and have ripple effects," said Stan Dean, an engineer who heads the district.

Lowering hookup fees for developers, however, means that existing customers will likely be paying more.

Homeowners in Sacramento County and West Sacramento can already expect their monthly sewer bills to almost triple over the next 10 years, from $22 to $62 a month.

But under the sanitation district's proposed shift, that same bill would run as high as $68 a month, another 10 percent increase.

A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Reggie Jardon has heard both sides of the argument for how to handle the costs. He represents ratepayers on a district committee that's been reviewing the rates and fees.

"As a ratepayer, I don't want to see my rates go up another $4 a month to cover the developer fees," he said.

He said the region's population is aging, and many residents are on fixed incomes and have already expressed worry about the planned $40 a month rise that would occur between now and 2020.

"I don't think it matters, though – this is pretty much a done deal," Jardon said.

The district approved a rate increase in June that covers the next three years. But it is already revising the formulas that will be used to set future increases.

The district's board – made up of elected officials from Sacramento and Yolo counties – received five new formulas during a presentation on rates and fees last week. All of the formulas would lead to higher homeowner rates in 2020 and lower developer impact fees. Under the alternatives, developer fees are expected to be between $8,100 and $19,700 per home.

Directors, who will be asked to pick one of the formulas next year, offered no objections to the proposed formulas at the meeting.

Sacramento County Supervisor Susan Peters, who sits on the sewer board, said she wants lower impact fees. When she told the county's new top executive, Brad Hudson, about the expected rise in the fees, he turned white, Peters said.

According to Peters, Hudson replied, "This kind of thing is going to kill any kind of economic development in the county."

In a written statement, Hudson confirmed that he would like the district to lower the fees.

Two other county supervisors on the district board, Roberta MacGlashan and Phil Serna, said the funding issue is very complicated and they don't know yet where they stand. MacGlashan voted against the last rate increase, saying she wanted something more gradual.

Dean, the district engineer, said homeowners could get stuck with higher rates even if the district doesn't change developer fees. Home construction could fall short of the district's projections, and the district would have to find additional money from existing customers, he said.

Increases will be lower if the improvements needed to meet the state's discharge requirements cost less than the district's $2 billion estimate. The state board that approved the requirements pegs the cost at $1.3 billion.

Officials on the sewer board will have to weigh all these factors.

"There are going to be some huge decisions to make in the next couple of years," Dean said.

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