The residents of Alpena and Alpena Township got an early Christmas present earlier this month when the two governments announced a settlement that ended a decade-old court battle over how much Alpena Township should pay Alpena for the water and sewer services the township purchases from the city.

But the deal only dealt with how much the township should pay the city for the years 2014 through 2017.

The city had also sued the township earlier this year over how much the township should pay for the years 2018 through 2024, and that lawsuit remains unresolved.

That means the two sides will be back to the bargaining table in 2025.

We hope, as the city and township promised in a joint news release announcing the settlement to the 2014 lawsuit, that the deal inked over the 2014 to 2017 payments can lay a solid foundation for talks to end the 2024 lawsuit.

We can’t go through another decade of back-and-forth, court appearances, and scrapped mediation, all of which cost the two governments millions of dollars in attorney and consultant fees.

We hope city and township leaders have resolved in the new year to end this dispute once and for all. We hope both sides bargain in good faith.

We hope this thing finally ends in 2025.