GARFIELD TOWNSHIP (AP) -- A board of Public Works hearing adjourned early last night after a heated crowd of 400 residents expressed concerns that there wasn't enough room at a Garfield Township hall for the meeting.

The hearing would have been the first step towards levying an assessment that would be about $27 per year on properties with septic tanks.

Peninsular Township Supervisor Rob Manigold says the postponement will prevent the Board of Public Works from meeting a timeline to put the assessment on winter tax bills.

"It's pretty clear we won't make the time frame," Manigold said.

The assessment would help cover the cost to maintain and operate the county septage treatment plant which will lose about $200,000 a year without it.

Acme Township Supervisor Wayne Kladder says there are options to avoid a tax increase, including finding additional revenue sources. This would mean finding other clients to bring additional waste to the plant, like food waste.

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