NORTH GREENBUSH — The town of North Greenbush has not reported all of its sewer hookups to Rensselaer County for more than a year — including a recent extension that will provide service to town Supervisor Louis Desso's house.

County officials say there are several dozen unreported sewer users in North Greenbush who have been receiving county sewer service for free and adding more volume to an already taxed municipal system.

Michael Stammel, chairman of the county Legislature, said the county began probing the situation last month after learning that Desso's extension wasn't reported. The county subsequently found the town had rarely notified the county sewer department about residential and commercial hookups dating at least to early 2017.

The county has asked the town to identify all properties that have not been reported, and county officials are conducting their own review, including searching records of town planning activities and building permits.

A property found with an unreported connection would not only get a pro-rated bill based on past water usage, but might also owe a municipal fee for connecting to a town or county sewer line.

"Whether it was neglect, or whether it was intent, I really don't know," Stammel said. "But it's definitely something we need to resolve."

Desso said Wednesday that any suggestion his Stephen Drive sewer extension wasn't reported because it would hook up to his house is "ridiculous." He said the town has always reported new sewer connections to the county once a year, and that it has kept in touch with the county health department about new lines.

"I don't know what the chairman of the Legislature is talking about," Desso said. "We've done everything right."

The Times Union published a story July 8 highlighting various ethical questions that have clouded the administration of Desso since he was elected supervisor in 2015.

Desso, asserting his rights as a citizen, has made numerous requests of the town government that he supervises, including aggrieving his assessment and requesting his property be subdivided and serviced by a sewer line. The story also highlighted how Desso's campaign account has received an extraordinary amount of money donations for a town its size, including from developers with business before the town.

Last month, Desso had free fill delivered to his property by one of those developers.

Rensselaer County became aware of North Greenbush's spotty sewer reporting after a neighbor of Desso's, who is part of the same sewer extension on Stephen Drive, sold their house, according to a letter dated June 27 the county sent to Desso. The neighbor's real estate attorney needed billing information for the closing, and the county had no record they were using county sewer service, according to other records related to the transaction.

Desso said his residence is not yet hooked up to the sewer extension. The town board approved the extension, but he and other users are responsible for paying for its installation. Meanwhile, one of his neighbors has received sewer service with no charge for a few months.

The letter to Desso from the county's sewer director, Gerard Moscinski, requested detailed information about the Stephen Drive sewer connections and any other property owners connected to public sewer since Jan. 2016.

Desso sewer letter by lstanforth9925 on Scribd

"We are unaware of any other municipalities where this may be an issue," said Richard Crist, Rensselaer County's director of operations. "We have only heard of this issue emerging in North Greenbush."

In the letter, Moscinski also noted that the town had stopped forwarding copies of minutes of Town Board, planning board and zoning board meetings to the county. He suggested the town should "resurrect those lines of communication." Many development projects require approval from the county as well as the local municipality.

North Greenbush building department coordinator Michael Miner told the Times Union Wednesday that he normally reports new sewer customers to the county once a year when the town budget is being put together, and said he didn't think the delay would create a lag in county billing. Miner said the town's engineer, who left about two years ago, was previously in charge of sewer reporting.

"If anyone is trying to make it look like something different, that's wrong," Desso said. "I'm proud of what I've done for North Greenbush. I have done nothing wrong."