CLAY -- County homeowners spoke, and it looks like lawmakers listened.
Before a packed Clay Town Hall, Onondaga County lawmakers revealed changes to the proposed sewer law in Onondaga County.
Under the new proposal, homeowners will no longer pay for inspection like previously planned. Instead, the county will pick up the tab. Sump pumps and roof drains that connect directly to the county's sanitary sewer system will have to be removed. However, the costly and invasive procedure of fixing foundation drains that connect to the sewer system is now off the table.
"I felt as though John Dougherty, our legislator, heard us and apparently Joanie Mahoney's office heard us as well," said Bayberry resident Bill Phillips.
He wasn't the only happy to hear tonight's news.
"God bless John Dougherty and some of the other legislators for standing up for homeowners," said Carl Whittemore, of Irongate, "And as a result, they have a come up with a proposal that they're going to vote on that's fair for homeowners and fair for the county."
Homeowners will still need to have their home inspected within the next ten years, unless they plan on selling. In that case, an inspection would have to be done immediately.
For many people tonight, it wasn't their first time voicing concerns to lawmakers. But tonight, their concerns were answered.
"It's nice to see, as a taxpayer and a voter, to be heard on a local level," said Phillips, "It's something that's near and dear to our homes and our hearts and it was refreshing to see government kind of work."
