Portage mayor proposing $10 million bond
Joyce Russell joyce.russell@nwi.com, (219) 762-1397, ext. 2222
February 07, 2016
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/portage-mayor-proposing-million-bond/article_d34a6891-14f4-5854-b4bc-d0ce28bb20b2.html
PORTAGE — The city's Utility Services Board and City Council will hold a joint meeting Wednesday to discuss a $10 million bond issue and rate hikes for sanitary sewer and trash services that may increase homeowners bills a total of $15 per month.
The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at Woodland Park and is likely to be the only public hearing on the issues.
Last month, Portage Mayor James Snyder proposed to the Utility Services Board a $10 million bond issue to accomplish several infrastructure projects in the city. He also proposed a $9 per month increase in the sanitary sewer bill to fund the bond issue.
Snyder said last week he will also ask for a $6 per month increase in the trash fee, increasing it from $12 to $18 per month.
The City Council, in addition to the Utility Services Board, must approve both the bond issue and the sewer rate increase. The City Council must approve the trash increase.
At the City Council meeting this past week, Snyder asked for a joint meeting of the two boards to discuss the proposed bond and rate increases.
If approved, a homeowner's monthly combined sanitary sewer/trash/stormwater bill will increase from $47 to $62 per month. The rate hike proposals also have a built in inflater which, with the inflater on the stormwater portion of the bill, would increase the overall bill by $1 per month each year.
Seniors will continue to receive a $3 per month discount.
Snyder said the proposed increase in sanitary sewer fees will still keep Portage's proposed rates of $32.50 per month the lowest in the state.
"We have done everything we can to get costs under control," Snyder said, regarding the proposed rate hike in the trash fee.
He also defended the proposed rate increases.
"We've chosen to be a union community and we will continue to pay union rates," Snyder said.
Snyder said the move to automated trash and recycling pick-up has saved Portage $1.2 million and the number of employees has been reduced from 25 to 19 in an effort to cut costs. He said they have negotiated lower landfill fees and made other moves for efficiency.
Snyder said by raising the monthly trash fee to $18, it will make the department financially self sufficient. In 2015, the sanitation department found itself running about $800,000 in the red.
Clerk/Treasurer Chris Stidham agrees current rates should be reviewed and increases implemented.
"I do think this is a great conversation to have regarding the rates. Given property tax caps, fee reviews like this one are inevitable," he said.
He said he agrees with the goal of making the Sanitation Department self-sufficient "from a fee stand point."
"Every property tax dollar we spend on garbage pickup is a dollar we aren't using on other important needs that don't have their own revenue stream," he said.
He used road repairs as an example.
"There aren't currently any road fees available for cities and towns to implement. So we basically have to use the property tax revenue we already receive to cover roads. By freeing up property tax revenue from sanitation expenditures we can spend more on road repair."
He said he thinks the new fees are "reasonable and necessary for the projects outlined."
He also thinks the proposed fee for the trash pickup is "appropriate."
He does wonder if the increases should be completed over time.
"This especially makes sense given household budgets aren't always flexible enough to absorb cost increases like this immediately," he said.
Projects being proposed total $10.5 million, said Snyder, but they plan to keep the bond issue at or below $10 million and use cash to fund the remainder of the projects.
Snyder said the first reading for the bond and rate hike ordinances will be held Wednesday with the intention of the City Council giving final approval at its March meeting.
If approved, Snyder said the increases could be seen on bills in May or June. He estimated work on the projects would begin this year.
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