Campton Hills won't take over sanitary district

A lawsuit over control of water and sewer service to about 1,000 residents in the Campton Hills area is ending with the village conceding the duty should remain that of the Wasco Sanitary District.

Village trustees late Tuesday agreed about 95 acres of the rural district are outside Campton Hills' boundaries, and therefore the village is not required by state statute to dissolve the district and take it over.

The sanitary district filed suit last week against the village, claiming officials intended to dissolve the taxing body without the appropriate authority.

Campton Hills officials say they were only looking into the possibility of a dissolution as a legal requirement, and are questioning why the issue had to end up in court.

"The sanitary district could have come forth earlier and said, 'Look, there's a piece of property that is not in the village that is in the sanitary district," village attorney Bill Braithwaite said Wednesday. "No decision was ever made by the village, and that's where they jumped the gun."

District President Raul Brizuela said village officials had indicated their intention to take over the taxing body in statements to local newspapers and "very, very intensive" Freedom of Information Act requests for district documents.

He and other district officials said the suit essentially aimed to get the facts on the record and ensure a formal resolution.

"The court can give finality to a dispute, and a lawsuit gives you that," sanitary district attorney Charles Muscarello said.

Both parties expect a judge to finalize an order of agreement next week. In the meantime, two groups of residents petitioning to put a dissolution question on the Feb. 5 ballot are expected to withdraw the paperwork.

Brizuela said the village's decision was the "right thing to do" and an "indication of the future between the district and the village.

"I appreciate them not forcing either one of us as public entities to run it through the court system and create a financial drain for both of us," he said. Now, "the constituents will be in control of their future, and that's the way it should be."

Questions over the fate of the district arose after Campton Hills incorporated as a municipality in the spring election.