Penn Hills residents will receive adjusted first-quarter sewer bills from Central Tax Bureau to replace the ones sent in April.

Central Tax Bureau originally sent bills for November, December and January with charges erroneously based on the 2008 rate and the new $30 quarterly charge.

Terry Van Horne, municipal manager, said he has received confirmation from Central Tax that it will send out new bills. Residents who already paid their sewer bills will receive a credit for the second quarter, he said.

Van Horne said he expects Central Tax to send out the adjusted bills on Friday at the latest.

For now, he said, he is focused on making sure Central Tax sends out the bills this week. So Van Horne and Central Tax officials have not discussed whether the municipality will have to pay a fee for having Central Tax send new bills.

Penn Hills officials promised upset residents at the April 21 council meeting that new bills would be sent out because the 2007 sewer rates should have been used to calculate residents' first-quarter bills and the $30 quarterly charge should not have been included in the bills.

Council approved a rate increase from $8.38 to $10.07 per 1,000 gallons used and a $30 quarterly service charge for 2008, causing numerous residents to call and visit the municipal building to complain when the original bills arrived.

Residents also are upset because Oakmont Water Authority is taking over sewer fee collection from Central Tax this month for its Penn Hills customers and the due date for the first combined water and sewer bills from Oakmont Water Authority will be close to Central Tax's due date for first-quarter sewer bills.

Penn Hills residents who have Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority for water service are expected to receive combined water and sewer quarterly bills in the summer.

Council increased the sewer rate and imposed the quarterly fee because Penn Hills needs to reduce its $91 million in sewer debt, which will take 20 years to pay off, Rick Minsterman, municipal engineer, said at the April 21 meeting.

The debt came from $60 million in repairs to the sewer system that Penn Hills was required to make under a federal consent decree, he said.

Previous administrations refinanced the sewer debt several times to avoid increasing sewer rates, but Penn Hills cannot refinance the debt again, Minsterman said.

With the 2007 sewer rate, Penn Hills no longer could absorb the Alcosan fee included in local sewer bills, manage the sewer system and reduce the sewer fund debt, Mayor Anthony DeLuca Jr. said at the April 21 meeting.