Happy Easter to everyone!!! It has taken me awhile to get back and I am sorry for the delay. I, along with other council members have been given a lot of information to digest. The main concern that I and some other members have is that we have not been given all the necessary information concerning the raise in the sewer rate that the administration is asking for.
1. If we now have delinquent sewer bills, how many more customers will become delinquent with a sewer rate increase ? One of the problems the sewer board and bond council has raised is the amount of revenue that is brought into the sewer dept. With the economy in poor shape and people working for less or not at all, this will create an additional burden for some who may not be able to handle the additional burden. It stands to reason if the economy grows, so will the stream of revenue.
2. If E.M.C. is going to lower the cost of their contract, why couldn't we use that money for the additional projects? Why wasn't the contract reduction explored sooner than wait till now?
3. The bond council at a recent meeting used a pie chart to show where the money for the sewer dept. was going. In that chart, it showed that the City of New Albany"s Debt service was several percentage points higher than the national average,( Well over 10%). It also showed the percentage that we were overpaying for debt service was the same amount that we were underpaying for project work. One could come to the conclusion we are paying too much for the attorneys and the bound councils to keep borrowing monies that we don't need. If we don't borrow money, the attorney's for the city and the bond councils DO NOT make money. WE CAN pay for the needed improvements ourselves without borrowing money, therefore reducing our debt, therefore reducing rate increases.
4. How much of the loan is new money and how much is going to refinancing? While it is true that we will be lowering the percentage of the interest on our current debt, will this offset the charges and the percentages that our attorneys and the bound council will be paid to structure the refinancing? This question was asked by Jeff Gahan, but was answered with double talk. No real figures were ever given.
5. I talked Friday with a gentleman who is currently working with one of the largest banks in the country. He is very aware of what is going on in New Albany and is considered by many in the Louisville metropolitan area as one of the premier financial monetary advisors not only locally but nationally. According to him, from what he has learned, New Albany is not in default of their bond payments, and not at risk of having these bonds called in. These are the typical scare tactics that politicians and attorneys use to justify their positions.
6. Recently, the Tribune, along with other members of our community, (the progressives). were calling on the council to raise the rate that was being proposed for at that time, 70%. Some of the council members wanted more information and after getting this information, felt that a rate increase of that size was not justified. Later, a proposed rate increase of 35% followed by a 19% increase followed by 4 years of additional 3 % increases approved by 1 council member. I then received a call from our Mayor and we worked on an alternate plan that brought the increases down to 19% followed by a 16% increase. I felt that it was possible to work further and maybe we could find more reductions. The point being is, with all the numbers floating around and the fact after working with these numbers we were able to reduce the proposed increase substantially in a short time. It is irresponsible for the local paper and these groups to try and pressure the council and or the administration to make a hasty decision that has an impact of this magnitude on our community.
7. Mr. Gonder proposed a 3 dollar fee to be added to our sewer bill. After careful consideration, he was able to calculate the amount of money needed to generate to cover the cost to update and complete the desired projects that were being proposed. A flat $3 dollar fee per month seemed like a better proposal than we had received to date. While there were council members that felt that his idea merited consideration, (myself included), no one from the sewer board or bond council seemed interested in his proposal. This idea would save the ratepayers millions of dollars.
8. The fact that the E.P.A. is not mandating this work to be done at this time, along with the proposed fact by the engineers that we have accomplished reducing sso's by over 90%, then it is possible that we can accomplish our objective without borrowing the money that is being asked of us by a group of attorney's that stand to gain the most. We need to take care of our City's problems of fixing our lines and lift stations instead of building new or updating lines to the county that benefits the developers at the cost of the current rate payers.
SPECIAL NOTE
We will have another Town Hall Meeting 6 p.m. to discuss concerns from our residents and a presentation with Paul Haub and others to discuss the crime problems facing our city. Everyone with questions or concerns is invited to attend. For information, call Dan @ 502-797-8347 (cell) or home @ 949-1262. Thank you and God Bless!
Sorry, I put the wrong date. The correct date is Wednesday the 7th at 6p.m.
