LIVERMORE FALLS — As of Tuesday, Nov. 13, anyone trying to use the town’s transfer station will need to show a sticker given out by the town that shows that they are a resident, Public Works Foreman Bill Nichols told selectmen Monday.

Nichols said some people are coming to the transfer station who are not Livermore Falls residents.

With an interim transfer station attendant taking over the reins while attendant Carroll Bowie is on sick leave, Nichols said he and attendant Wayne Sapiel will be checking residency and anyone who does not have a sticker and is not a resident will be turned away.

It is a rule that has not been enforced in recent years, he said.

Selectmen requested that the stickers be available on Tuesday, Nov. 6, when residents come in to vote between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Town Office.

The Town Office is closed to business Tuesday, unless it is an emergency.

Town Manger Kristal Flagg said Bowie needs to undergo heart surgery and will be out for about two to two-and-a-half months.

Sapiel of Jay is retired and had worked at Jay Transfer Station. He is the husband of Livermore Falls Town Clerk Sue Sapiel.

The usual replacement for when Bowie is out sick is Ron Morris, the town’s former custodian. He has another job and would not be able to fill in on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for the length of time needed, she said.

In other business, selectmen agreed Monday to propose a 20 percent increase in sewer rates to help cover expenses for the town’s wastewater treatment plant. Board members, in their capacity as Sewer Department trustees, set a public hearing on the rates for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26, at the Town Office.

Rates will not be approved by the board until after the hearing.

Selectmen and Town Manager Kristal Flagg discussed different scenarios on rates to cover the $160,000 the Sewer Department owes to the Sewer Treatment Plant for sewage treated at the plant, plus debt. Flagg reviewed rates for towns that have a similar number of sewer users as Livermore Falls. Some included base rates per quarter, water consumption paid by sewer users and debt paid through taxation of the entire town.

Another option discussed was allowing the Sewer Department to borrow money from the town’s General Fund and have annual payments made and a balloon payment made at the end to cover debt and repairs.

The Livermore Falls plant is owned by the town and is paid for by sewer user fees. Jay and Livermore Falls share the cost of sewage flow treated at the plant. Currently, Jay pays 54 percent and Livermore Falls, 46 percent.

Livermore Falls user fees have been paying for the loans taken out for projects including replacement of sewer lines. There is $177,000 in sewer fees outstanding including a trailer park that owes $50,000, Flagg said.

There has not been enough revenue coming in to cover expenses, Flagg said.

The sewer rate, adopted in 2010, is $55 per quarter and 4.3 cents per cubic foot of water used.

A 35 percent increase would be needed to cover expenses, Flagg said. Selectmen decided that would be too much at one time and may cause more users to not pay sewer fees. The town has foreclosed on properties recently for back sewer fees.

A 20 percent increase would raise the base rate to $60 per unit each quarter and increase the water use rate to 5.16 cents per cubic foot. The increase would bring in an additional $17,029.96 increase per quarter or $68,119.84 annually, Flagg said.

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