Highland Boards & Commissions – Sanitary Board

The board of sanitary commissioners as currently constituted is a five (5) member panel, all of whom are appointed by the municipal executive (The Town Council President by law) for a term of four years, no more than three (3) of whom may be of the same political party. The department’s administrator is a Superintendent of Sanitary District, appointed on the basis of his training or fitness to administer the utility to which he is assigned, who is the Public Works Director by virtue of his office.

In addition to managing the sewage works, the board of sanitary commissioners has jurisdiction over a special taxing district referred to as the sanitary district of Highland, which is coterminous with the corporate boundaries of the Municipality. In addition, it is empowered to issue bonds and incur bonded indebtedness not to exceed 12 percent of the net assessed valuation of the jurisdiction. The Board recommends rates and charges sufficient for the operation and maintenance of the wastewater and storm water utility. The Board manages the storm and sanitary sewer plant of the town. 

Sanitary Board Chairman Rex Burton and his fellow commissioners have invested nearly $10 million into the town’s sanitary and storm sewers to alleviate chronic back-ups and flooding that historically followed a heavy rain. The commission’s goal has been to systematically remediate issues with flooding.

Still, there is much work to be done. 

A specialized video system that provides images of the hundreds of miles of underground pipes and joints has revealed a number of trouble spots that will force the town to replace entire sections of pipe and insert liners in others to slow the flow of storm water into the sanitary sewers. The town sends its water to Hammond for treatment and pays for the service by the gallon. Because residents are charged for wastewater based on fresh water use, every gallon of storm water that infiltrates the sanitary sewer system costs the town money at the same time it overwhelms the system’s capacity.