STAUNTON — The news brought a wave of applause Thursday night: a proposed rate hike for water customers may be less severe than originally proposed in the city manager’s budget.
Based on savings on a bond issue, Finance Director Jeanne Colvin told the crowd she recommends raising sewer rates by 10 percent rather than the 15 percent proposed in City Manager Stephen Owen’s fiscal year 2011 budget. An average sewer bill for a family of four would increase by $29 per year rather than $43.
Colvin said she learned this week of a federal government plan to reimburse a portion of the city’s annual interest paid on a recently approved $8.9 million bond issue for water and sewer and fiber optics projects, saving the city $1.8 million over 20 years.
Council talks are ongoing for the proposed $94.5 million budget, which includes a proposal to increase the city’s personal property tax rate from $2 to $2.40.
In other business:
Five taxpayers spoke out against a proposal to close Montgomery Hall Park Pool.
“It’s hard to digest,” Thomas Johnson Jr. told the council. “The pool has a lot of history, and I was part of that history. When I was growing up, we looked to the pool for an opportunity for fellowship, to play and have a good time. I think we need to study the park situation further.”
The proposed budget includes closing the pool, which city staff say is underused, for a savings of $15,000 per year.
As an alternative to the pool, Owen suggested using $52,830 from the city’s capital improvement fund to build a splash pool, with features that spray water but leave no standing water.
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