Collinsville City Council split on possibility of raising utility tax, adding employees

The Collinsville City Council remains split on the possibility of increasing the city’s utility tax rate and adding 10 city employees, which are actions laid out in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.

The council approved the 2016 budget and will vote on the 2017 budget on Jan. 11.

Two council members — Councilwoman Nancy Moss and Councilman Jeff Kypta — have said they are against raising taxes and adding city employees. They both voted against approval of the 2016 budget at the City Council’s Monday night meeting.

Councilman Jeff Stehman and Mayor John Miller, on the other hand, have said a tax increase and the addition of employees are both necessary. They, along with Councilwoman Cheryl Brombolich, voted for approval of the 2016 budget.

The utility tax rate increase in the budget is from the current 1.25 percent to 4 percent. That would be an increase of $4.67 per month for the average residential user, and $19.01 per month for the average commercial user, according to Finance Director Tamara Ammann, with rebates available for seniors, disabled and low-income residents.

The council did not commit to that 4 percent rate in approving the budget, however. It would establish the rate with a separate levy.

Interim City Manager Mitch Bair has said the next lowest utility tax rate of municipalities in the area is 3.09, which is more than twice Collinsville’s current rate. The utility tax funds capital projects, including sidewalk and road repair and equipment replacement, among other things.

The 2016-17 budget plan also includes the addition of 10 employees and the elimination of one vacant department head position.

In 2016, the budget includes the addition of a city engineer, a certified building official, three laborers in the streets department and an administrative assistant in the police department. A police officer, firefighter, code/zoning compliance officer and a staff planner are the proposed additions in 2017.

The position of streets director, previously held by Rod Cheatham, has been eliminated. Bair said some restructuring of positions within public works, including the elimination of the streets director position, is saving the city about $74,000.

Moss said prior to the vote that she did not support the budget because it is “neither fair nor prudent for our city.” She also called the budget “unsustainable.”

Stehman said he supported the budget because he is concerned about public safety, including things like the paving of streets and replacing of equipment like ambulances.

“Nobody takes it lightly to have to raise any kinds of taxes,” Stehman said.

In other business

The council also approved the following at Monday night’s regular meeting:

▪  Contract not to exceed $85,000 with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc., consulting engineers, for a study of the Wastewater Treatment Plant’s biosolids, or sludge, processing. Water/Wastewater Director Dennis Kress stated in a report that the process needs to be modified to reduce operational costs and to add flexibility to where and when the sludge can be disposed.

Kress said sludge disposal costs approximately $500,000 each year. It is the second largest expenditure in the plant’s annual budget after labor, according to Kress.

▪  Amendment to the city municipal code establishing fees for permits to keep chickens within city limits and increasing garbage collection fees in 2016.

The three-year permit for keeping chickens in residential areas will cost $50. Garbage collection fees will increase by 3 cents to $12.96 per month for regular households and by 2 cents to $9.86 per month for senior households.

Collinsville City Council meets next at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 at City Hall, 125 S. Service St. The previously scheduled Dec. 28 meeting has been canceled.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 10:28 AM.