Water Rate Increase

On Monday, March 31, 2008, Council had a meeting on the budget to discuss a water rate increase.

The discussion was about an increase in water and sewer rates, an increase above and beyond that one recently enacted to cover an increase in costs from the Carroll/Boone Water District

The amount? An additional 22% increase, according to a reliable source, whose information has since been confirmed.

We understand that the Mayor admonished those at the budget meeting, saying they “couldn’t say that,” they were only to say there would be “an increase of $6/household.”

We don’t care how it’s said.

We care that the increase is intolerable– a bald attempt to bring the City up to some financial plateau so we can float another bond issue that will enrich a bond issuer but won’t bring that much into the City in the long term– some $68K over 12 years, minus $40K to the company issuing the bond.

Take Responsibility, Mayor Joy

No, Mayor Joy, it is not the previous Mayor’s fault. You and your administration knew about the need to raise water rates the middle of last year, and you should have moved on it then.

You also should have negotiated the rates the City receives on its CDs instead of transferring them to a bank at a bargain-basement rate– for them.

The lower CD rate, according to the bond issuer, is just one of the reasons you have let the City fall below the threshold needed to float another bond successfully, Mayor Joy.

The behavior of your administration, Madame Mayor, has been shameful on this issue.

Our readers need to ask you, Mayor Joy, and members of Council, to hold sewer rates where they are:

Mayor: mayor@cityofeurekasprings.org
Ald. Rae Hahn: raehahn@cox.net
Ald. Kathy Harrison: lharri1048@aol.com
Ald. Joyce Zeller: jzeller9847@sbcglobal.net
Ald. Patrick Brammer: patrickbrammer@remax.net
Ald. Eric Scheunemann: alderman@eurekametalworks.com

Any shortfall can be dealt with by assessing timely and appropriate impact fees.

Media not Informed of Meeting

We understand that, contrary to law, the media was not informed of the meeting. We know we were not in spite of our request before Council, publicly, to be informed as per Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) law. We have also confirmed that one of the local weeklies was not informed. And we are told that no media was at the meeting.

It is no wonder we were not informed. The Mayor tried to sneak a secret by us all.

The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act is to assure that this kind of thing will not happen.

This assault on the citizenry through secrecy must be stopped.