The Emporia City Commission might have to raise trash fees by 25 percent and close the city’s transfer station on Sundays to balance the solid waste budget, City Manager Matt Zimmerman said Wednesday night.
According to the city, if 2008 revenues match projections and all requested purchases are made, the solid waste fund would end up nearly $329,000 in the hole. Raising fees and cutting service would allow the city to cover that deficit but would leave nothing for a cash reserve — a situation the commission has hoped to avoid.
“How do you run a business — how do you run a home — without some kind of reserves?” Commissioner Bobbie Agler said. “Accidents happen.”
Zimmerman agreed but said that without a major tax hike it wouldn’t be possible to cover everything. Commissioners have said they do not want to raise property taxes by more than 4 mills for next year.
As it stands, much of the $12 million capital improvement plan that the city commission adopted Wednesday night for 2008 will probably be unfunded. The plan says what the city wants to do for equipment purchases and projects, but doesn’t require any money to be put forward.
“We know there are going to be many, many items in here we’re not going to be able to afford,” Commissioner Jim Kessler said. “But I guess it’s a plan.”
“Well, it’s all out on the table in front of us instead of coming at us hit-and-miss,” Agler said.
The five-year $53 million capital improvement plan calls for $32 million from the city if fully funded.
Zimmerman said he knew there might be some resistance to raising trash fees, especially because the city only last increased them in 2006. But though the percentage sounded high, he said, in real terms it adds up to about $31 more per year for a typical home.
“No one ever wants to pay more money,” Zimmerman said. “But the nice thing about the enterprise funds is you can pretty much say ‘These are our costs and this is what our revenue is expected to be.’”
Closing the transfer station on Sundays, if adopted, would save the city about $60,000 a year. The rate increases, if passed, would take effect Jan. 1.
Meanwhile, the city still has to work out how to balance the general fund this year. The gap between what the city would like to do and what the city can afford to do is about $2.5 million. That includes funding the capital improvement plan and the results of a wage study later this year, but does not leave the minimum 5 percent cash reserve that both Zimmerman and the commission consider essential.
Agler said filling that gap is going to mean some tough calls.
“Bluntly, I’m not sure we can fund the CIP (capital improvement plan) fully every year without raising taxes,” Ager said.
“You’re very right,” Zimmerman said. “We can’t. If we had zero bond and interest, maybe. But we’re way behind the eight-ball on bond and interest.”
Of a proposed 4-mill property tax increase, nearly 1.25 mills would end up going to the city’s bond and interest fund to help pay off existing debt.
Agler said the city was going to have to take a hard look at its operating costs to create a balanced budget.
“There’s two sides to a budget and one of them is cutting the cotton-pickin’ expenses,” he said.
“I am not afraid to pull the trigger to balance the budget,” Zimmerman said.
In other action:
F The commission commended Evora Wheeler and Ron Slaymaker for their work in coordinating the city’s 150th anniversary celebration. Those two, in turn, thanked the volunteers, the media and everyone else who had made the event work. “We received a lot of credit ... but wow, the city really stepped up,” Slaymaker said. “’The city’ meaning all of us.”
F A request to close part of Seventh Avenue for a Sept. 15 event by Natasha’s was postponed until the commission’s Aug. 1 meeting. Contrary to information previously released by the city, the event is not a fund-raiser for Brandon Ayers — that happens two weeks earlier — but is a celebration of the pool hall’s second anniversary. If passed, Seventh Avenue would be closed from the alleyway near Natasha’s to Commercial Street for an event including live music, pool and alcohol sales. The pool hall proposes to fence off the area and use off-duty police officers for security.
daveedailey (anonymous) says...
Is there a doubt in any body's mind of what is going to happen? Of course the trash fee will go up and taxes will be raised!!!!!!!!!!!
July 19, 2007 at 1:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
We get all this industry to come in and they get all the tax breaks so it is the avg people that foot the bill and that is BS. Getting a business in here only helps 100 people they employee without taxes. What about the other 34,900 residents of this city/county.
July 19, 2007 at 1:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dayjob55 (anonymous) says...
Let's see here. You raised the trash rates in 06 and now you're talking about it for 08. Do I see a pattern here? $31 may not seem like much to someone who lives in a big fancy house in the snob hill section of town but to people who are having to choose between food and medications that money is a lot. Once again, the commissioners need to walk in the shoes of the fixed income family. Let them go talk to someone who lives only on their social security & retirement plan, see what their basic expenses are and ask them how much they have left over to go out to eat, see a movie or even just drive around in the evening to enjoy the weather. Then ask them if $31 a year will make a difference. You bet your hind end it makes a difference.
July 19, 2007 at 1:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
daveedailey (anonymous) says...
Read the article about how Zimmerman does not believe the census of this town and then state how you feel. Thanks
July 19, 2007 at 1:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
10 to 1 taxes will go up 4+ mills. Just hot air regarding budget cuts
July 19, 2007 at 2:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
If the transfer station needs to be closed one day a week, I would like to suggest they don't do it on the weekend. So many people depend on the transfer station and recycling center to be open on Saturdays and Sundays because those are they days we have available for home improvement projects, cleaning and yard work.
July 19, 2007 at 2:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
I wonder what they will cut. What if they gave the trash service to a private company like Waste Management? Would that solve anything?
July 19, 2007 at 2:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
daveedailey (anonymous) says...
What is going to be cut is yours and my spending! They are thinking of every which way to sock it to the people of Emporia. If they do not raise trash fees they will raise prices at the dump, if they do not raises prices at the dump then water rates will go up. Believe me with the people in charge now, you, me and thee are going to pay out the yang yang for these so fair minded people. They have ways to make us all pay. I actually feel really sorry for the fixed income person because they seem to have forgotten that those people exist.
July 19, 2007 at 3:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wildcat2010 (anonymous) says...
From my experiences a majority of the stuff being dumped on the weekend is yard waste, Tree limbs, grass and the like. Would it be possible to allow access to that area of the station when the rest is closed?
July 19, 2007 at 8:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
47hclwym (anonymous) says...
It would be nice to think if they left that part open that people would be HONEST and not dump the wrong stuff. Look at Gibson's Salvage on your way to the dump. Big signs that tell you what to dump and what not to dump. (Even in Spanish) WOW! and you see the mess they have to deal with. The Haz. Waste place is the same. NO after hours dumping and half time they have crap piled at their gate and they are FREE... all the time. How they get past that camara with out being seen is beyond me. HONESTY and INTEGRITY where did it go???
July 20, 2007 at 1:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )