Purchase of Jeannette sewer system likely to be finalized next month

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County's purchase of the Jeannette sewer system could be finalized by mid-April, officials said Wednesday.

The $22 million deal announced last month will provide $4 million in immediate cash to the financially strapped city.

Municipal Authority manager Chris Kerr said it is expected a check will be turned over to the city by late April.

“The target date is mid-April when we will operationally take over,” Kerr said.

In addition to the $4 million in cash to be paid directly to the city, a sum that officials said could be used toward cutting the town's earned-income tax, the final version of the deal calls for the county authority to assume $18 million in debt.

Independent lawyers for the city and the county authority have signed off on the deal, according to solicitor Scott Avolio, who serves as the attorney for the city, its sewer authority and the county authority.

The deal calls for the county authority to take over the city's sewer plant in Penn Borough and assume its nine workers.

Sewer rates for Jeannette customers will continue to reflect a rate structure that city officials approved last year, including annual rate increases to pay for renovations at the treatment plant.

The last remaining hurdle, according to Kerr, is for the state to give final approval, which will allow the county utility to assume a $5 million PENNVEST loan secured by the city to upgrade the system's sewer plant.

The purchase of Jeannette's sewer system will double the county authority's sewer business, which has about 5,000 customers.

Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.