MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon city and Clinton Township officials want to dissolve the Clinton Water and Sewer District, an entity they say is no longer needed, financially unnecessary, and burdensome to residents.
During a city Utilities Committee meeting on Monday, Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said the district has outlived its original purpose and is an unnecessary layer between the utility customers, the township, the city, and the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA).
“Residents ultimately bear the cost of this complexity, whereas a simplified structure would allow resources to be focused on infrastructure development, service quality, and future investment rather than administrative duplication,” he said.
The township established the district in 1990 to finance water and sewer expansion throughout the township. Mount Vernon now provides those services.
In December 2025, the CWSD notified the city via an unsigned press release that it voted to reduce the CWSD fee township residents pay by $5. The previous fee was $20.14; the current fee is $15.14.
Salyers said the district did not include the City of Mount Vernon in its discussion, even though the city provides the water and sewer, collects the fee, and disperses it back to the CWSD.
That sparked Mount Vernon to investigate the district’s financial condition.
“We found that their assets were greater than their debt … and the $5 per month reduction was not sufficient. In reality, they didn’t need to be charging anybody anything,” Salyers said.
The district has two outstanding OWDA loans totaling $196,779:
• One matures on July 1 (balance of $51,865.20, 6.39% interest rate).
• Another matures on Jan. 1, 2031 (balance of $144,914.89, just under 5% interest rate).
“Per the district’s own CPA, they currently have more than $348,000 on hand, exceeding the amount of debt that they currently hold,” Salyers said.
Township trustees support dissolving the district
Clinton Township Trustees Donna Hochstetler and Jay Maners attended Monday’s committee meeting. Both support dissolving the district.
Hochstetler said the township has worked on this for a long time.
Maners said Clinton Township water has been a long, painful topic.
Financial picture
Clinton Township residents pay:
• Standard Mount Vernon base rate plus consumption rate.
• 40% out-of-city surcharge.
• $20.14 CWSD district fee (now reduced to $15.14).
• $4,000 tap fee.
“The district was set up to pay off the debt that was incurred to put in the sewer lines; $26,000 is the median home income for most of this area. That’s a tight budget,” he said.
“Our goal is to take care of our citizens. Now that we understand the debt is capable of being paid off, we support paying the debt off and alleviating this pain to the citizens that have been living there. They have struggled to pay this for a long, long time.”
Maners said dissolving the district also abolishes a $4,000 tap fee, which makes it more difficult to draw people into the community to help raise the median income.
Salyers said current charges support operation of water and sewer facilities, infrastructure maintenance, debt service obligations, capital planning, and administrative requirements.
“Residents should clearly understand where their money is going. I don’t know that that level of transparency is being extended to the ratepayers of Clinton Township,” he said.
“Many residents assume all utility costs directly support utility operations. In reality, a portion of those costs exist because of the district’s separate legal and financial structure.”
How dissolution would work
According to Salyers, the three paid board members who govern the CWSD would have to vote to abolish the district.
Clinton Township would assume ownership of the district’s assets. The city would assume responsibility for the outstanding debt service, subject to OWDA approval. It would either retire the debt immediately if it is financially advantageous or pay it according to the existing amortization schedule.
Clinton Township would reimburse the city for the debt obligation.
Salyers emphasized that the city is not bailing out the township’s debt; township residents will still pay it.
Nor, he said, is it a ploy to annex township land, as the city already provides water and sewer to the township.
“We are, however, to be very transparent, interested in working with the township via a jointly ratified contract on expanding services in the township for clean drinking water and reliable sanitary sewer. Just like we have done in the past, and just like we’re currently doing with our OPWC,” he said.
“That’s what the people of Clinton Township want. They want savings in their pockets, they want access to clean drinking water, and they want reliable sanitary sewer.”
tanner Salyers, mount Vernon safety-service director
The city can handle extra capacity.
Mount Vernon’s water plant was built for 14 million gallons per day (GPD). The two clarifiers can each handle 3.5 million GPD, but only one is in use. The other is empty.
What happens next
Council members gave a second read to a resolution on Monday that signals their willingness for city and township officials to work out an agreement to handle water and sewer in the township.
Salyers said that if the CWSD does not vote to dissolve, the city will still serve township residents.
However, he noted that once the debt expires, the city is not interested in working with the CWSD on a further agreement.
“If we’re doing a partnership, it’s going to be with the elected representatives of Clinton Township who we deal with on OPWC projects,” he said. “They are the elected representatives of the people of Clinton Township, not this de facto board that exists via contracted debt that’s about to retire anyway.”
Maners assured township residents that the city and township are not “walking them into something that’s not good for them.”
“I want to make sure that they’re fully aware that everything on their site is going to be taken care of, and the city is going to work with us to make sure they’re taken care of going forward,” he said.
Regardless of the ultimate fate of the CWSD, Salyers said the city will adjust residents’ bills to account for the January through June billing cycles when rates should have been $15.14 per month, not $20.14 per month.
