After voting on a few regular business items, discussion among members of the Washington Township Council heated up at last week’s meeting.

Once the meeting was opened to the public, Jack Yerkes took the floor to discuss the recent Municipal Utilities Authority water-rate hike.

Yerkes was recently appointed to the MUA, but during the last MUA meeting, he said he was still considered just a member of the public.

The MUA recently voted to raise rates by about 30 percent.

Yerkes expressed his concern about the increase and the impact a drastic hike has on the Washington Township community.

“The MUA needs to live within its budget like all ratepayers and taxpayers do,” Yerkes said. “Those people on the board work for the ratepayers.”

Members of the council chimed in to discuss the contributions the MUA has made over the past decade to contribute to the challenging township budget process.

Two years ago, the MUA contributed $2.3 million to the budget, said council vice president Christopher Del Borrello.

Del Borrello said the MUA’s rate hike has little to do with the ongoing contributions the separate entity has made to the township.

“They didn’t have to raise rates to cover us. But we don’t want to rob Peter to pay Paul,” Del Borrello said. “We don’t want the MUA to subsidize the township. At some point, they’ll have to look at their infrastructure. The MUA will need their surplus.”

Board of Education President Stephen Altamuro called for the MUA to be eradicated by moving it under the auspices of Washington Township government.

“Everybody’s got to look back at the MUA and see its days are numbered – and we have to get rid of it,” Altamuro said. “We’re supposed to be consolidating, yet so many towns continue to have MUAs.”

Altamuro noted new board appointees no longer receive benefits. Before the benefits were discontinued, he said, he felt many appointees were only serving on the MUA board to reap the benefits.

“The MUA is a dumping ground. It’s always been a political dumping ground,” Altamuro said. “Now its time is over.”

Altamuro urged the council to take a deeper look into ending the MUA and said he wouldn’t personally circulate a petition to put the question to voters in a November referendum.

Del Borrello said he was interested in pursing a deeper look into the MUA, but said the process to bring it under the township could take up to three years to implement.

“There’s no denying it would save a lot of money,” Del Borrello said.

In other council news:

Business Administrator Bob Smith gave an update on where the township is in the budget process. He said department heads submitted their budgets about six weeks ago. Auditors, he said, are currently working to prepare financial statements.

“We’ll have solid numbers very soon. Council and the administration are prepared to dive into budgets next week,” Smith said.

The mayor and council also said goodbye to Township Clerk Jennica Bileci, who accepted a job in Pine Hill. Many members of the council thanked Bileci for her years of service to the township.

“In the three months I’ve been here … you are a gem,” Mayor Barbara Wallace said. “I’m proud of what you’re becoming.”

Meanwhile, Councilman Giancarlo D’Orzaio and several members of the public brought up the idea of televising every council meeting, instead of every other one.

Members of the council said they were interested in exploring the costs of adding an extra meeting to the lineup.

Currently, the school district foots the bill for videotaping the meeting and allows the township one taping per month.

Altamuro said he’d look into the cost of the extra taping.

Kevin Murphy, the high school’s athletic director, offered the option of looking into using student interns to tape meetings.

Members of the council also questioned the status of the old library building.

The vacant building may potentially be used by the school district to operate special services, lessening the amount of students needing to be sent out of district and allowing students from other districts to be sent to Washington Township, with the township receiving funding from the sending district.

“We’re trying to put a committee together and come up with a program we think could work,” Altamuro said.

He said it might take the district about five or six months before it could approach council with any solid plans for the space.

The township currently has control of the building.

“You guys might opt to sell it before waiting for us,” Altamuro said.

The next regular council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.