Deana Stroisch
The State Journal-Register
Mar 18, 2013
A Springfield alderman is suggesting raising sewer fees by 35 percent to pay for some high-priority sanitary sewer projects. The proposal by Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin would generate about $2 million a year, $3.5 million less than Mayor Mike Houston’s administration originally requested for sanitary sewer projects.
For the typical user, monthly sewer fees would increase by an average of $3.30, according to estimates from the Office of Public Works.
McMenamin called it a “modest proposal” that will take care of priority sewer projects until the city knows what other money is available through low-interest loans, state grants or in the city’s own budget. He said he asked the city legal department to draft such an ordinance.
McMenamin opposes Houston’s plan to pay for infrastructure improvements through a 1 percent sales tax increase. The mayor’s plan calls for using one-quarter of the sales tax hike, or about $4.5 million, to finance sanitary and sewer projects. The rest would pay for street and sidewalk improvements.
McMenamin, who said he has been working with Ward 9 Ald. Steve Dove on the proposal, said a sales tax boost would widen the disparity between taxes charged inside and outside city limits, putting Springfield-based businesses at a disadvantage. “A sewer fee should go for sewer capital projects,” McMenamin said. “We also want to put the money into a sewer fund, so it can be used for no other purposes but sewers.”
Dove, who has spoken against a tax increase for infrastructure, said his constituents have told him they could support a small increase if there was a guarantee that the money would go for its intended purpose. Raising the sewer fee for sewer work, Dove said, would satisfy that.
The mayor’s administration has proposed a 10-year, $55 million plan to improve the city’s sanitary and combined sewer systems. Houston and Public Works Director Mark Mahoney have said a minimum of $5.5 million a year would be needed to complete the capital improvement plan. By comparison, the city has budgeted $625,000 for sewer projects this year.
The mayor originally suggested a 1 percent sales tax increase and raising the sewer fee 25 percent each year for four years, but said there didn’t appear to be enough aldermanic support for higher sewer fees.
It’s still unclear whether more aldermen would support a smaller sewer rate hike.
Theilen said he might consider McMenamin’s idea, but wants to see his reasoning and take a closer look at the numbers.
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 