Judge rules in favor of water district

Bill San Antonio

A Nassau County Supreme Court justice recently ruled against the Village Plandome in its lawsuit against the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District, which alleged the water district breached its contract with the village and charged unreasonable fees for its water.

Justice Bruce Cozzens ruled in his Aug. 1 decision that the water district’s rates were determined fairly and reasonably, and that the district did not breach its terms with the village when raising the village’s rates.

Cozzens also ruled that Plandome was not a “captive customer” of the district, as the village has alleged, because it has its own water wells that it could use to provide water.

“We’re pleased with the court’s decision,” said Chris Prior, the water’s district’s attorney. “We believe the court’s decision is correct in all respects. We hope that the matter has now concluded because taxpayers for both jurisdictions have been forced to spend a lot of money to get to this point which we feel is unfortunate, but we are pleased that the court has agreed with the points raised.”

The village, which has spent $325,000 on legal fees to contest the water charges, issued a statement to the Manhasset Times on Thursday saying it was disappointed in the ruling and is now exploring other options for water after its current contract with the water district expires at the end of 2014. 

“Currently, Plandome residents pay water rates that are much higher than the rates and taxes charged to MLWD’s largest customers,” according to the statement. “Under the MLWS’s methodology, according to the court, those rates will continue to increase significantly.”

The village, the statement said, is looking into opening the village’s wells, which were closed before the village began purchasing water from the water district.

The Village of Plandome, which is located outside the water district, filed its lawsuit November, alleging that it was charged higher rates than district clients who received additional services and that the water district’s methodology for calculating rates was “flawed,” according to a statement the village issued on its Web site at the time.

The village purchased water under a 20-year contract with the water district, from 1992-2011. During the last five years of that contract, the two parties agreed to a fixed rate of $3.85 per 1,000 gallons, while a contract extension was negotiated.

After the initial contract ended, the village continued to purchase water from the district and to negotiate for lower rates. 

Manhasset-Lakeville Water District Commissioner Brian Morris wrote a letter to the village in February 2012 stating that the district would provide water under a new formula and that the village’s acceptance of the water indicated it accepted the new rates. A second letter was issued in July.

In 2012, the water district raised its water rate from $3.85 per 1,000 gallons to $4.20 per 1,000 gallons. The village initially refused to pay the increase, but made good on money owed under the new rates in September. 

In a statement provided the Manhasset Times in March regarding the history of the water district’s relationship with the village, Prior defended the increase. He said the village’s 2012 rate was only 35 cents per 1,000 gallons greater than its previous rate, and represented an average annual increase of 1.76 percent over the past five years. 

Plandome’s water rates were raised again last month, to $4.85 per 1,000 gallons, retroactive to January.

In a statement about the lawsuit’s verdict, water district Commissioner Andrew DeMartin said “the costs of complying with local, state and federal public water supply requirements have been steadily increasing for many years. Property owners in the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District who use Water District water must pay the Water District both a water use charge and Water District property taxes, while the Village nor any of its residents pay any taxes to the Water District.”

Share this Article