MASSENA -- The Village Board of Trustees may soon hold a public hearing for proposed changes to how the village bills for services to water and sewer lines, including hooking into the sewer system.

One trustee claims the new rates could go up by as much as 400 percent.

The village is looking at making the changes because of a court case that says their current method is illegal. Under the proposed rules, a resident inside the village will be charged 50 percent of the total cost of labor and materials. Those outside the village will be billed the full price. Under the system now in place, they are charged a flat fee.

Trustee Francis Carvel said the cost now to hook into the sewer system is a $750 flat fee, but under the new formula could go up to as much as $3,000.

But Public Works Superintendent Hassan Fayad said that isn’t accurate, and the average bill will be more in the neighborhood of $1,800.

He says all other area communities use the formula Massena may adopt, including the village of Potsdam and the city of Ogdensburg.