Fallsburg Is Our Home Not a Developer's Gold Mine.

Dear Friends and Neighbors
 
The Town of Fallsburg is staring down a $110 million sewer system upgrade, and unless something changes fast, year-round residents will be forced to pay the price — not the developers creating the need for it.

This isn’t just a project to replace old pipes. It’s a massive infrastructure expansion being driven by the strain from high-density housing developments, summer colonies, and large multi-family residences that continue to pour into our town. The plan includes an expansion of the South Fallsburg Wastewater Treatment Plant from 3.3 to 4.5 million gallons per day and the replacement of critical piping, which is estimated to cost $2 million per mile. This isn’t just maintenance, it’s growth infrastructure.

So the question becomes: who should pay for growth?

Right Now, It’s Us, the Residents

Today, the typical single-family home pays about $650 per year in sewer taxes. After this project is completed, that’s expected to jump to $1,228 per year, and even higher for homes assessed at more sewer benefit units. Some smaller year-round homes are already assessed at 16 units, which translates to an estimated $1,312 per year, nearly five times more than their current cost.

And why? Because the system needs to be expanded, not because of the people already living here, but to accommodate the rapid pace of large-scale development that’s changed the face of our town.

Developers Are Not Paying Their Fair Share

Currently, Fallsburg charges a one-time sewer connection fee of just $2.81 per gallon per day (GPD). For a home assumed to use 300 gallons per day, that’s just $843 per unit — a laughably low figure considering that some of these new homes house 8 to 10 people and can easily use 600–800 gallons per day or more.

Even at the current rates, they should be paying at least $1,700 to $2,300 per house, and if they’re coming in from outside the district, closer to $13,000 per home.

These developers are building for profit, often with outside funding, and leaving the ongoing burden of repairs, upgrades, and long-term service to Fallsburg taxpayers. Fee schedules must be drastically updated. If developers think this town is a “gold mine,” as one speaker stated at the March 4 public hearing, then let them pay “gold mine” prices. That comment wasn’t just arrogant, it was an insult to every working family, senior citizen, and lifelong resident who has been here through thick and thin.

This Town Is Not a Developer’s Free-for-All

Fallsburg is not rich. Many residents live on fixed incomes. This is a working-class town. We cannot and should not be forced to cover multi-million-dollar expansion costs just so developers can maximize their profits. We wouldn’t be replacing pipes at $2 million per mile if the infrastructure weren’t overburdened by the scale and pace of development.

This isn’t about religion. It’s about fairness. It’s about math. It’s about survival.

When homes are built for large families, with 6, 8, even 10 children, they should be charged sewer fees that match their usage. They use more water. They produce more wastewater. They put more wear and tear on roads, schools, and utilities. The per-household fees and infrastructure buy-ins need to reflect those realities.

What Fallsburg Must Do Now
1. Immediately raise sewer connection and development fees to reflect real usage — including higher rates for large, high-occupancy homes.
2. Tie future hook-up fees to actual occupancy, not outdated 300 gallon-per-day assumptions.
3. Impose development impact fees across the board, for roads, schools, parks, and water infrastructure, just like other towns in New York do.
4. Freeze all new sewer connections until a fair cost-sharing plan is adopted that protects current residents.
5. Require developers to escrow capital funds before a single shovel hits the ground.

A Final Word

The people who live here full-time, who send their kids to school here, who drive these roads year-round, who support our fire departments and libraries, deserve better.

Fallsburg is not a blank slate or a cash cow for outsiders. It is a town with a heart, a history, and a community. If there’s gold here, then we, the people who’ve cared for it all along, deserve to keep it in our hands.

Let’s make sure growth pays its own way, so that Fallsburg doesn’t lose everything that makes it home.

There will be an election for Town Board this fall. Several current members will be running for re-election. Fallsburg Future has decided to publish a weekly newsletter highlighting the issues that face the residents and the town. Each newsletter will highlight a particular topic of concern as well as an overview of a particular issue. We have had technical issues with our email service. It has been corrected and you are able to respond to this email.

Fallsburg's Future is a community network of concerned Fallsburg residents established in January 2016. Its Mission is to help guide the urban development of the town of Fallsburg and its five hamlets, to promote its sustainable economic development, protect the fragile beauty of its natural habitats and enhance the opportunities and quality of life for all its residents and visitors. We hope to curb the suburban sprawl that is threatening to overwhelm the town’s physical infrastructure and destroy the natural beauty that the area depends on for its future development. See us on Facebook and our website Fallsburgsfuture.com.