06-24-02 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JUNE 24, 2002 involved here and if the proper procedures are very carefully followed then problems will not arise with constitutional protection. He noted that no insult is meant to the police officers. Councilmember Coleman made a motion to continue this bill in the Public Hearing portion until the July 22, 2002 meeting of the Council and send it back to the combined Health and Public Safety and Residential Neighborhood committees and also reset it for Third and final reading at that time. Councilmember Coleman noted that the Public Hearing on July 22nd would be to receive new information regarding the bill from the presenter and to hear from additional citizens who have not yet had the opportunity to comment either for or against this bill as well as those who have already commented but may wish to comment on new provisions or alterations to the bill as they are presented at the next meeting. Councilmember Pfeifer seconded the motion. Councilmember Pfeifer noted that another thing that needs to be addressed is the misunderstanding that if a person is in the wrong neighborhood that that alone can cause a problem. Individuals must be involved in specific inappropriate illegal gang activity. The motion carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. BILL NO. 43 -02 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND AMENDING CHAPTER 17, ARTICLE 2, SECTION 17 -21 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH NEW SEWER RATES BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS Councilmember Al "Buddy" Kirsits reported that the Utilities Committee did not vote on this bill based on the petitioner's request that it be withdrawn. Mayor Stephen Luecke, 14th Floor, County -City Building, South Bend, Indiana, made the presentation for this bill. Mayor Luecke informed the Council that the last sewer rate increase was in 1988. Submitted to the Council for consideration is an ordinance regarding a rate increase that does a number of things. It meets the City's needs to meet increased operational expenses of the wastewater treatment plant and maintenance of the sewer system. It provides for payments for the $24 million dollar improvements that have recently been done to the wastewater treatment plant. It provides for funding of capital programs as the City moves forward to begin to meet some of the combined sewer overflow issues as well as other capital investments in the systems such as lining old sewers so they don't collapse, extending new lines to provide for new housing and /or industrial development as well as ongoing maintenance of the system. The proposal represented the City's best efforts at putting together what was felt was a fair rate structure. There were a number of issues taken in consideration. The current rate structure has a high fixed cost with a very small per unit cost associated with the sewer rates. It was proposed to change that to have a much smaller fixed cost and a higher per unit cost so that customers that produce more sewage would pay a larger percentage of the operating expenses of the plant. It proposed a fifty per cent ( 50 %) surcharge on customers outside the City limit. This was based on a cost of service study that was conducted. Because of those changes there were some customers that were impacted not with a fifty seven per cent (57 %) average increase but with a two, three or four fold or larger increase in their proposed sewer charges. Discussions have been held with some of those users and they, as well as Councilmembers, have raised some legitimate questions. Therefore, Mayor Luecke asked that this ordinance be withdrawn from consideration tonight. He noted that the administration would like to take more time to have some work sessions with the Council to help to explain further the rationale for the level of funding they believe is appropriate for the rate increase and to talk about a variety of options in terms of how this rate increase might be funded. Those options would include looking at the existing plan that is -10-