On May 19, Coplay-Whitehall Sewer Authority had its annual review. The review brings together all the significant players and provides insight into each area of the authority’s operation.

First up on the agenda was John Barry from Brown & Brown, CWSA’s insurance agent. The company covers losses on the authority’s assets. Insurance costs increased by 2.6 percent during the review period.

“Most of the increase was based on higher asset values. Rates are steady in the market … the same trend is expected in the future. In the insurance industry, carriers are merging and there is more capital available,” he said.

Barry indicated the authority could expect some savings on workers compensation.

“There were a couple of tough years, but those drop off the history so costs will drop,” he said.

The authority initiated a safety program after a rash of incidents, and it appears to be having a positive effect.

Although the authority has insurance other than the Affordable Care Act, Barry said the program is going to cause a lot of havoc in 2017.

“The subsidies go away, and the costs are increasing. Expect a lot of turmoil over health insurance starting in 2017,” he said.

Jeff Lisicky, of the accounting firm of Buckno Lisicky and Company, reported on the authority’s financial position. The audit remained in draft form until earlier in the day.

“There are mandated changes to the way governmental entities deal with pension reporting, and we did not get the figures until earlier today,” he said.

Pensions in the authority’s plan are in good shape under the new rules. According to Lisicky, there was a charge against income of less than $200,000.

“That is significantly better than many of the other entities we audit,” he said.

The authority’s income increased significantly over the year from around $400,000 last year to almost $2 million this year.

“The large increase came from overpayments made to City of Allentown in prior years … after legal wrangling, those were returned to the authority,” he said.

There were funds added to income that were reimbursements for work done on behalf of the state. The accounting firm gave the authority its top rating and had no qualifiers on its opinion.

Darryl Jenkins, of SSM Group, the authority’s engineer, reported on projects in 2015.

“We completed the relocation of sewer on Fullerton Avenue. This was a PennDOT project done in conjunction with improvements on Route 22. We will get reimbursed for the costs,” he said.

The Lehigh River Interceptor Station is expected to be completed in June.

“In our preliminary test, everything is performing the way we expected. This project allows the authority to improve its response during high water situations,” he said.

Jenkins also started planning for improvements to Front Street in Coplay. The project is waiting on funding.

According to Jenkins, there are no regulatory issues pending.

“When addressing problems, most authorities are reactive. With the CWSA, they are proactive and address problems before they become a crisis,” he said.

Attorney John Stover addressed the group on the status of legal issues.

“We had an EPA mandate in 2009 to improve clear water infiltration for all the municipalities using the Allentown Waste Water Treatment Plant. The mandate effectively ended in December 2015, but the results are not complete. We had the provisions extended two years. CWSA is ahead of the other municipalities using the Allentown Waste Water Treatment Plant. We convinced the EPA to determine compliance by looking at municipalities as individual units rather than as a whole,” he said.

Stover reported 46 active liens for unpaid bills.

“We initiated 21 new liens in 2015 and retired 29,” he said.

Although the original complaints filed against the Allentown plant are complete, additional legal battles are expected in 2016.

“CWSA and some of the other municipalities determined that we were overbilled for departmental costs that were not related to sewer operations,” Stover said. “Action is being taken to recoup those funds.”

The Lehigh County Authority has a separate issue against Allentown on revenue projections used to support the lease arrangement funding.