Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020077
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-13 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
The Finance Committee voted 4-3 Thursday to have no increase initially, but to have the town administration make a study of possible rate structure changes within the next six months with the possibility of increasing sewer rates then.
The committee agreed to recommend a 5 percent water rate increase, because that is the last of several planned increases outlined by Ernst & Young, consultants hired to recommend a program for stabilizing the town's water fund. The administration will use the Ernst & Young model for its sewer rate structure study.
Pulaski Town Council must set its water and sewer rates for next year at its next meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The Finance Committee is composed of the entire council, so the 4-3 vote is likely to stand unless John Stone - absent from Thursday's meeting - votes against it.
Even that would throw the matter to Mayor Andy Graham, who favored no sewer rate increase and said he thought some money for sewer work could be squeezed out of the general fund. Graham noted that sewer rates already had gone up 13 percent last year.
"Transferring the money between funds is not going to solve the problem," Councilman Roy D'Ardenne said. "Realistically, when it comes down, we will be setting a precedent that will be followed from now on."
"I think we could do that on a one-time one-year basis," John Johnston said. "I'm not saying that we'd do it forever and ever."
Finance Director Max Beyer told the council members that would be camouflaging the problem. "Once you do it," he warned, "you'll always have that escape route."
Assistant Town Manager Rob Lyons said the town would simply have the same problem next year at budget time. "We cut way down to the bone to get to the 3 percent," he said. "There's nowhere else to cut in the sewer fund. It's going to have to come out of inflow and infiltration."
Inflow and infiltration is what the town calls its program for fixing and stabilizing the sewer system's leaks.
The administration originally proposed a 10 percent jump in sewer rates next year, to cover the costs of fixing an aging sewer system and bringing sewer revenue in line with expenses. Council pushed that figure back to 3 percent, which the Finance Committee considered Thursday.
The 3 percent increase would have budgeted $90,000 for repair of deteriorated lines discovered through the town's television unit which can actually travel through and view the lines from inside. It has detected leaks that had been pouring thousands of gallons of outside water into the lines, raising the amount and cost of treatment.
"We've found some huge holes," said Vice Mayor W.H. "Rocky" Schrader.
The situation got so bad that the Peppers Ferry Regional Wastewater Treatment Authority, which handles sewage treatment for Pulaski, served notice on the town last year that it was using more water than was allowed under its agreement with the authority. The town had to get additional water capacity from Pulaski County.
Bettye Steger and Alma Holston, who voted for no sewer rate increase, suggested asking the town's new Board of Economic Development to see what it could cut from the $180,000 budget it thought was already approved for next year. E.G. "Junior" Black also thought more could be pared from economic development.
Black said later that about a quarter of the town's taxpayers are retirees on fixed incomes, who would have difficulty paying both higher water and sewer rates.
Voting against Johnston's motion, and in effect for a 3 percent sewer rate increase, were D'Ardenne, Schrader and Eddie Hale.
D'Ardenne had moved recommending the 3 percent increase, having the town staff analyze sewer rates and report back within 90 days, and seeing if the reduction in wastewater from line repairs to date will lower what the authority will charge for treatment.
Johnston's substitute motion took precedence and was passed. Schrader predicted it would mean a bigger rate increase in the end "because we're going to have to play catchup."
by CNB