The August 20th City Council meeting was all about rate increases. The Stormwater Board wanted to raise the monthly fee by $2.00 to cover maintenance work on the sewers. There was much discussion about this issue from the public and from the city officials.- Jason Hublar of the Falling Run Group questioned where the money would be spent if the fees were raised. He said the $100,000 appropriated was spent in another neighborhood. A representative from the Stormwater board said the funds are used on a case by case basis.
- Vicki Denhart of Citizens for Accountability said the council members need to go out and talk to the citizens. She added that flooding is not a one time issue. Additionally she said that taxes paid are not meeting the tax payers' needs, and that the trash and garbage collection should be bid out. As for the budget, she said we cannot freeze the 2009 because we don't have a 2009 budget approved as of yet.
- Richard Berryman complimented the council but complained that the garbage truck had left a stream of filthy, smelly water in front of his home and was told to use bleach and water and clean up the mess himself.
- Brent Glotzbach wanted to lower the $5.00 request for an increase in garbage collection.
Councilman Gahan brought up the Linden Meadows problem. Asked if the council could do anything to help. Mr. Malysz said that he was aware of the problem. The Linden Meadows project was not turning out as planned. He added that the State had hired an engineer and an architect who will report back to the Administration. Mayor England suggested that the city leave the issue in the state's hands.
The mayor also added that the garbage problem needs to be resolved because the Street Dept. employees need to be working to paint the lines on the streets. This is a safety issue.
After voting, the Stormwater ordinance was amended to a $1.00 per month increase and was approved.
The garbage/trash increase was not approved.
Since the meeting lasted from 7:30 to after 10:00 this is obviously a very condensed version. Any attendees please expand the coverage if you wish.