Emporia’s utility rates might be going up as a result of budget discussions during the city commission’s study session Wednesday morning.
In earlier budget discussions, city manager Matt Zimmerman had proposed a 19 percent increase in water rates and a 16 percent increase in solid waste rates, to be offset by a 19 percent decrease in sewer rates. This would have resulted in an increase of about 29 cents per month for the average homeowner.
After looking at long-term prospects and wanting to find ways to pay cash for capital projects, commissioners decided to forego the sewer rate decrease. The result will be a monthly utility rate increase of about $5.78 for the average homeowner.
“The city commission’s consensus is that, while we’re obviously very concerned about the cost, we’re not in the position, looking long-term, of being able to lower the sewer rates like was originally proposed,” Zimmerman said.
The discussion among commissioners revolved around the wisdom of lowering rates now only to have to increase them even more next year. Commissioners agreed that it’s better to try to budget for smaller increases in the future.
“The feeling is that rather than doing a rate decrease now and a larger increase in the future doesn’t really make a lot of sense,” Zimmerman said. “We’re better off keeping the rate in the sewer fund flat and having a little increase in future years. ...”
Sales tax collections continue to drop, but are so far trending along with the budget’s projection of a 7 percent drop for the year, Zimmerman said.
August sales tax collections are down 19.7 percent from the same period last year. For the year to date, sales tax collections are down 6.7 percent from the same eight month period in 2008.
“The budget assumes a 7 percent decrease in sales taxes, so we’re pretty much trending right at where the budget assumes we’re going to be,” Zimmerman said. “Obviously, a significant decrease month to month over a year’s period is a concern, but all we can do is continue to monitor it and make adjustments accordingly.”
Commissioners also reviewed the draft of a policy that will help homeowners in certain low-lying areas to install check valves to alleviate sewer backups. According to the policy, the city will pay half the cost of a check valve up to $1,250.
Public works director Ron Childers said the city receives about 120 calls per year regarding sewer backups. The backups can happen for a number of reasons, Childers said, including heavy rains and power outages that disable one of the city’s lift stations.
“If one of those lift stations goes down because of a power outage, then there’s no place for that sewage to go,” Childers said. “First person on that line’s going to have a problem.”
City engineer Mike Novak said the program would allow a homeowner to get estimates from plumbers, have the work done and then be reimbursed by the city for half the cost.
The program was first brought up for discussion in April as a way to isolate the city’s sewers from individual property by installing a check valve on the sewer service line, Novak said. The valve can be closed against any backups in the system, protecting property from the backups.
“This is the city stepping forward with a way to help those properties that have got a history of regularly occurring sewer backups as a way to protect themselves from those occurrences,” Novak said.
The check valve policy will be discussed at a future commission meeting.
deluvly1 (anonymous) says...
August sales tax collections are down 19.7 percent from the same period last year? Dang! Almost EXACTLY half the amount that revenues are down at local bars since the smoking ban. Suppose that the city stifling business has had an adverse effect...Naaaaah!
August 26, 2009 at 4:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
deluvly1 (anonymous) says...
August sales tax collections are down 19.7 percent from the same period last year? Dang! Almost EXACTLY half the amount that revenues are down at local bars, year to date, since the smoking ban. But then it will all improve as soon as college starts back up...oops, wait, the college crowd IS back but no significant change!
Suppose that the city stifling business has had an adverse effect?...Naaaaah!
August 26, 2009 at 4:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yev_kassem (anonymous) says...
Here we go again....everything always goes back to the smoking ban.
It couldn't possibly be the economy?!?
And the students have only been here a week max. Let them get into the flow of school before they start pissing their money away.
August 26, 2009 at 4:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hickory (anonymous) says...
Sales taxes should be up quite a bit next month tho, with the "Cash for Cluckers" program. That should bring in a bunch of extra money that we wouldn't have had.
August 26, 2009 at 5:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
Unless they went out of town and bought cars.
August 26, 2009 at 7:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Wasp (anonymous) says...
The city should take full responsibility of installing check valves. Anyone who has has sewage backed up in their house can sue the city for damages!
August 26, 2009 at 8:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Sales taxes do NOT reflect sales in bars which are Liquor taxes, a different tax all together.
Yev, I think you are correct, NOTHING reflects the smoking ban. It is deficit neutral. Was this the first weekend that Steve & Bobbie spent in Emporia this month?
and as far as students "PISSING AWAY" their tax dollars, don't they support your government job?
August 26, 2009 at 9:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
The city commission said, the cost to administer the utility funds is 2 million dollars, but they admitted that this was a million dollars to high. Frankly, if the city of Emporia can't administer any better than that, we need to consider to turn this over to private interests. The city of EMPORIA is over budget by 1 million and to balance the budget they are increasing utility rates and this is a harsh tax on those in our community who are least able to pay. Emporia should be divided into 5 districts for fair and equal representation. Let's get this on the ballot box.
August 27, 2009 at 9:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Blue_Dog (anonymous) says...
In the past the city was only (by state regulation) allowed 5% to administer revenue funds (Water, Sewer, etc). The comment that it takes either 1 or 2 million to administer the fund is strange. But part of administration does include payroll, repairs & bond payments, etc for that department. So not sure we have all the facts.
August 27, 2009 at 10:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
A increase of average bill $5.78 per month.
$69.36 per year.
How many mills would this increase work out to?
Just wondering?
August 27, 2009 at 12:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
We need to put this run away government on a diet.
August 27, 2009 at 12:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gg (anonymous) says...
It is just another hidden tax without coming out in public saying they are raising your taxes.
Do our city comm's get a yearly cost of living raise? If they do, then that should be the first cut in the city budget item then talk about raising our taxes (I mean utility rates).
August 27, 2009 at 1:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alsrac (anonymous) says...
This guys (commissioners and city manager) should be ashame of themselves, don't they get that the least we need right now is more raises in taxes o utility rates?
People keep losing their jobs in town and they just don't care, why they don't cut their wages instead?
The services they offer are a shame, how is possible to get the trash picked just once a week? Even in the countries called "third world" the trash is picked at least every other day, and I'm talking big cities not littles towns like ours.
August 27, 2009 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
alsrac. I hope you were at the public hearings and gave the comm. your ideas on how to balance the budget without raising taxes/fees. Their ears work.
August 27, 2009 at 9:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alsrac (anonymous) says...
Admireed, I didn't go, I have more important things to do that listen to these people whom i really doubt their ears work.
YY4U, I don't know in which country you lived, I lived 20 years in a so-called third world country and it wasn't like you described, in fact it was better looking than here, and I didn't pay private security, trash and all that.
August 28, 2009 at 1:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )