The Inside Scoop
Semantics
No elected official likes to raise fees and taxes.
And that unease about spending taxpayer money had City Council members carefully considering their options about the 2010 water rates this week.
But Water Resources Director Allan Williams gave the council three options: use $2.1 million from a savings account; cut back maintenance projects to keep the rates flat; or increasing water rates by six percent.
Putting off work on water lines was not a popular option. And at first, only four council members liked the idea of dipping into the city’s reserves. But they also expressed concern about asking residents to pay more in a difficult economic time.
So Councilman Robbie Perkins tried to talk council members through the options.
“Ok, who wants to raise water rates six percent?” Perkins asked.
“That is not the right question,” Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small said, to laughs from the audience.
Councilman Mike Barber offered another variation.
“Who wants to stab the taxpayer in the heart?”
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