The "final estimate" for the sewer betterment fee in the Oakdale and Cromesett neighborhoods has been calculated to $21,434.88 -- several thousand dollars above other recently-sewered neighborhoods.

Water Pollution Control Facility Director Guy Campinha presented what he referred to as the "final estimate" for the project at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Tuesday.

The calculation still has to be confirmed before the betterment fee can be truly finalized and billed to the public, Campinha explained after the meeting.

"We're going to vet the numbers. Every single line, we're going to look at closer," Campinha said.

Wareham has been laying sewer lines in various neighborhoods for more than a decade. The town finances the cost of laying those lines by charging property owners what is known as a "betterment fee," which is calculated by dividing the total cost of a particular sewer project by the total number of households in the neighborhood being sewered.

The estimated betterment for the Oakdale and Cromesett areas is thousands of dollars above the fee charged in neighborhoods sewered in recent years, which has angered residents of the Oakdale and Cromesett neighborhoods.

The betterment fee for the Parkwood neighborhood, completed in 2010, was around $15,000 per property. Fees for the Rose Point area completed in 2007 were approximately $16,700.

During the "citizens' participation" portion of the Selectmen's meeting, Oakdale and Cromesett residents expressed their frustrations about the high estimated betterment and the time that it has taken to get a final cost.

"We need answers. We're tired of waiting," said Sharon Gomes, a resident of Oakdale and a member of the Oakdale Betterment Association. "People need to trust the town that they live in."

Selectmen Chair Steve Holmes told the residents that answers would be coming.

"At some point in the next couple of weeks, we will have a meeting where we will know," Holmes said, adding that representatives from companies involved with the project would be at the meeting. "We're going to do our best to give you answers. We're going to do our best to educate you -- not with postcards, but with an actual meeting."

The estimated total cost of laying down sewers in the Oakdale and Cromesett areas came to $5,851,721, Campinha said. Divided by 273, or the total number of properties that will be required to connect to the sewer in those neighborhoods, resulted in the current per-property betterment estimate of $21,435.

Members of the Board of Selectmen took issue with some of the individual expenses, such as lawyer fees, that were included in the $5.85 million cost.

"Do we just get a bill and pay it?" asked Selectman Ellen Begley as Campinha explained the different expenses associated with the project. "Do we even negotiate any of these funds?"

Selectman Cara Winslow asked who authorized the payment of those legal fees.

"I don't have any recollection of ever having approved payment of an attorney's bill on this project," said Winslow. "Legal bills should not have been paid without our approval."

Campinha said that he had been spending time getting the numbers for the total cost of the project and would find the answer to Winslow's question.

Selectman Alan Slavin recused himself from the discussion due to a potential conflict of interest, as he owns two properties in the neighborhoods affected by the betterment fees.

In other town business:

• Selectman-elect Peter Teitelbaum said that he expects to take his Selectmen seat next Tuesday. The town has been waiting for state legislators to approve a bill to allow former-Selectman Michael Schneider's resigned seat to be voted at the April 3 election. Schneider resigned too late for the seat to be easily added to the ballot, due to state-mandated election deadlines.

The bill has passed the state Senate and House and reached Governor Deval Patrick's office last week. The governor was out of the office on Tuesday because of personal reasons and was not able to sign the bill. Teitelbaum said he is hopeful that the governor will sign it and expects to be sworn in next week. If the governor does not address the bill within 10 days, either by veto or signature, it automatically becomes law, Teitelbaum explained.

• The Board of Selectmen will hold a volunteer appreciation dinner for town volunteers on June 19. The exact format of the dinner is to be determined.