Seven Years, $1.4 Million, No Repairs: Edison Council Demands Answers on Sewer Department
The council unanimously approved two contracts with Liro Engineers, but not before giving the township's water and sewer department two weeks to prove seven years of spending has been worth it.
“I don’t want to stand here for you and defend you. I’ve done that too many times,” Council President Joseph Coyle told Water & Sewer Utility Director Roger Freda. (Edison Television via YouTube)
Chris Howell | April 23, 2026
The Edison Municipal Council voted Wednesday to spend $1.4 million on outside engineers to design and oversee repairs to the township’s gravity sewer system. By the May 6 meeting, the administration has promised to answer a question that’s been hanging over the township for years: Is all that engineering money buying something real?
Councilmember Richard Brescher, who has championed the township’s decision to operate its own water and sewer department rather than sell it to a private company, signaled he’s running out of patience.
“I thought the whole purpose of us building a sewer department and a water department was for us to increase that,” Brescher said. “Now I’m kind of being told we’re just subcontracting everything out.”
The tension reflects a fundamental disagreement about what the township’s sewer department should actually be: a full-service operation with in-house crews making repairs, or an administrative pass-through that hires consultants to design, bid, and supervise all the work.
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The short answer: state law requires it.
In 2023, Edison signed an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, committing to a nine-year program to assess and repair its sewer infrastructure. To help finance that work, the township tapped the state’s Infrastructure Bank, a low-interest lending program, but that access comes with strict conditions.
“We are required to provide engineering reports,” Business Administrator Sonia Alves-Viveiros said. “That’s what’s required under the ACO and the I-Bank.”
In practice, that means hiring licensed engineers to produce inspection reports, design specifications, and construction oversight documentation. Only after those reports are uploaded to the I-Bank system for state approval can the township draw down the financing to fix the pipes.
Brescher’s frustration, though, is understandable. The township has already paid engineers to inspect the system. Now it’s paying the same firm — Liro Engineers Inc. — to design repairs based on what those inspections found and to conduct further inspections covering Phases 3 through 5. Altogether, the two contracts approved on Wednesday total $1,424,030.
An undated profile photo of Roger Freda, Director of the Edison Water & Sewer Utility. (LinkedIn)
Edison Water and Sewer Utility Director Roger Freda told the council the department is doing far more in-house than it used to.
“On the water side, we probably did 97 percent of our own repairs this year,” he said, adding that the department was now taking on in-house main installations for the first time. But he confirmed that work falling under the ACO must go through outside contractors.
Alves-Viveiros put the full scope in perspective: 300 miles of gravity sewer main, 21 pump stations, 7,000 manholes.
“We do need Liro to provide and collect all of the information,” she said.
That didn’t fully satisfy Brescher.
“Six years, seven years later, and we’re at a point where we’re not seeing results,” he said. “I see millions spent on engineering fees, but I’m not seeing the benefit yet.”
He asked if the council approves both contracts on Wednesday, would there be more engineering phases — and more engineering bills — still to come? The answer from the administration was yes.
“I’m going to come back to this body asking for an additional $500,000 times three — another million and a half — to design the bid spec for phases three, four, and five,” Brescher predicted. Alves-Viveiros did not dispute it, saying the administration would provide a full cost breakdown for all phases.
Council Vice President Robert Kentos pressed separately on the financial upside. Alves-Viveiros confirmed that the township expects its I-Bank loans to be forgiven at roughly 1% interest, but only if it follows the required process.
“That is the plan,” she said. Kentos summed it up: “In order to get the grant money and go through the I-Bank, you have to do this process here.”
What made Wednesday’s exchange particularly sharp was its echo of a debate that has run through Edison politics for years.
Brescher campaigned alongside Coyle to keep the water and sewer department in township hands rather than sell it to a private operator. Now, he’s questioning whether the township is honoring the spirit of that decision.
“We should either be committed to a sewer and water department that’s going to fix these things, or we’re committed to let’s sell it,” Brescher said. “Because here I am, six years later, and I’m not seeing anything except that we spent millions on engineering fees.”
Council President Joseph Coyle recalled one reason why the township decided not to sell its water and sewer utility was that it would have meant a private operator taking on an $800 million, 40-year bond with zero discretion from the township over how the money was spent.
“We would have had a car dealership plan with a group that would have spent as much as they wanted, any time they wanted,” Coyle said.
But Coyle also told Freda, in unusually blunt terms, that his patience has limits too.
“I’ve already given you a lot of time to come to this podium to make sure you’re prepared, because I knew these questions were coming from my fellow Councilmember,” Coyle said. “I don’t want to stand here for you and defend you. I’ve done that too many times.”
Despite his frustrations, Brescher voted yes on both contracts — but with a condition. By the May 6 meeting, he wants the administration to produce a full accounting of the Water and Sewer Utility’s recent accomplishments and plans for future projects.
Coyle backed the request and announced a separate briefing session with Brescher and the administration before May 6. He also told the department director directly: “I hope you’ll impress the councilman. I won’t be batting for you in that room.”
The nine-year repair timeline under the ACO runs through 2032. Whether the department can show enough concrete results to justify its cost and its continued independence may depend on what it brings to the table in two weeks.
The next Edison Municipal Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 6 p.m. in the Municipal Complex.
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