By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Wednesday’s planned Committee of the Whole and Common Council meetings were cancelled Tuesday due to lack of a quorum.
The meetings had already been pushed back a day because of Tuesday’s elections, but ended up short of the quorum by one. The City Council needs at least six of the eight council members to have a quorum.
The council was set to vote on a number of items, including a new waste and recycling contract with John’s Disposal as well as engaging Patrick Romenesko for annual audit services.
But also on the agenda during the Committee of the Whole meeting were a pair of items that will impact city residents – adjustments regarding two of the city’s tax incremental financing districts, and a request to raise water rates.
The amendment to the TIF districts involves using money from TIF 3 to help close out the city’s environmental remediation TIF. TIF 3 is performing well enough to close three years early, in 2017. But the other TIF – which encompasses the parking structure area as well as a planned retail development on East Chestnut that hasn’t materialized – is underperforming.
Due to state statute changes, the city wants to shift funds from one TIF to the other. TIF 3 would then close in 2018, and bring the other TIF to a close in 2018 as well.
“The council has to approve it before the TIF board can,” said Mayor Bob Miller.
On Monday night, the Burlington Area School District School Board approved the planned change, 5-2, as a part of the joint review board.
Water rate hike
Meanwhile, the planned request in the water rate change is a 3 percent increase. That would mean an increase in the quarterly charge of 81 cents on 5/8-inch service pipes to about a $9 increase on 6-inch pipes. Consumption charges are proposed to increase 6 cents for the first 5,000 cubic feet, 5 cents for the next 245,000 cubic feet and then the same for the next 500,000 cubic feet, and then 4 cents for any amount more than 750,000 cubic feet. There is also a small increase in fire protection charges proposed.
The average family of four would see about a $3.30 increase in cost per quarter.
“Water usage itself is down, however, our infrastructure costs continue to go up,” Miller explained. He added that the city still needs to maintain pipes and wells, and might also be looking at possible radon remediation on well No. 11.
All agenda items for both meetings were to be moved to the Nov. 18 meeting agendas.
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