An early start on your New Year’s hangover Podunk, prepare to dig deep into that pocket

City Hall has announced that next year will bring an increase in our taxes on water, sewer and the ever popular solid waste debate, as Podunkians are asked to pay an extra 12.5 per cent in order to finance civic services.

Those citizens that have remained in the city despite the harder economic times will be looking at increased taxation, making for a smaller pool of taxpayers now required to bear a larger burden from their family incomes. You have to wonder at what point the frustration level boils over at what seems like a default mechanism of raising taxes to run the city’s budgetary needs.

Perhaps a complete breakdown of income and spending expenses from every department and all associated city financed companies and services might help the shareholders of Podunk Inc, (taxpayers) to get a better handle on what is important and necessary to the public that is expected to foot the bills.

It would give the citizens the chance think over what they truly feel is a municipal responsibility. Thus the taxpayers would be able to provide the city with input as to what they feel they should pay for by taxation and what might best be sent off to the private sector to operate.

In order to bring in the revenue, the city is providing for a carrot and no stick policy on the new taxation plans. For those that are good citizens and pay promptly there will be a ten per cent discount, as the city changes it’s collection methods as opposed to the previous penalty phase in place.

The Daily News had all the facts, figures and explanations on the front page of Thursday’s paper.

HIKE ON THE WAY FOR WATER, SEWER AND SOLID WASTE FEES
City charging more for services but part of raise to be offset with discount
By James Vassallo
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Pages one and two

Fees for water, sewer and solid waste will jump nearly 12.5 per cent in the New Year. However, those who pay on time will not have to pay the full amount.

“Payments received on time this year, they would be eligible for a 10 per cent discount as opposed to previous years where we looked a penalty situation,” said Corporate Administrator Douglas Jay. “There is an opportunity for residents to reduce the impact of any fee increases this year.”

Home owners and business owners who pay on time for water utility will pay 2.39 per cent more next year once the discount is applied. For sewer services, they will pay 2.57 per cent more next year with the on-time discount and for solid waste, people will pay 2.47 per cent more next year if they qualify for the discount by paying on time.

The three services together will cost about 2.47 per cent more overall.

“To put it in perspective, that’s about a per cent less than we really need in our five-year plan,” said Bob Thompson, director of engineering, “When it comes down to it we could use more money than that.”

Also new next year is the fact that fees will no longer be included with the Municipal Property Tax bill. Instead, the bill for water, sewer and solid waste will arrive quarterly, which will help relieve some of the city’s cash-flow problems in the fist half of the year.

The city has also begun looking into simplifying its rate structure, which currently comprises a laundry list of rates for utilities like water based on the type of business or dwelling structures using it.
“What you see now is a really antiquated situation where we have all sorts of old commercial rates that in most places have just moved into a metered rate,” said Thompson. “We’ve grandfathered a in a lot of people who don’t want to have meters for some reason, although meters are cheaper,”

Councillors agree that the increase could not be avoided because of the increase in the city’s operating expenses – from employee wages to fuel.

However, Coun. Tony Briglio drew attention to the fat that local companies in the waste disposal business or those operations that need to dump significant amounts of garbage have not been give much notice.

“I’m wondering if those businesses that are out there have actually been appraised of these changes with respect to getting rid of some of the garbage,” he said. “Contracts have been let out for the year based on the tipping fees we (said) would last for a year.”

Thompson explained that the rate increases will start January 1, 2007, with the exception of the increased tipping fee, which will not begin until April, allowing commercial operators a quarter of a year to adjust.