WARREN Council approves sewer rate increase

The last sewer rate increase was in 1991.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- After hearing from residents and city workers supporting a sewer rate increase, council amended legislation and passed it.
The 76-cent increase will be seen on customers' bills in early December.
The rate increases from $1.98 to $2.74 per 100 cubic feet of water used by city residents and from $1.79 to $3.85 for outside users.
At a meeting earlier this month, Councilmen Robert Holmes III, D-4th; James A. "Doc" Pugh, D-6th; Robert A. Marchese, D-at large; and Councilwoman Susan E. Hartman, D-7th, voted against the increase.
Mayor Hank Angelo and Tom Angelo, director of the water pollution control center, asked for a reconsideration of the vote at a meeting Wednesday.
That request was echoed by several people attending the meeting. Dan Aulizia, who works in the water pollution control department, said that rejecting the increase could cost jobs in the city. It also would mean a failure to address flooding problems that occurred throughout the area over the summer, he said.
"A 'no' vote is a 'do-nothing' vote for hundreds of citizens in the community that need your help," Aulizia said.
Jim Black, another employee at the plant, pointed out that the last sewer rate increase was in 1991.
"The people in that department have worked hard, and instead of getting a pat on the back, we're getting kicked in the teeth," Black said.
Reconsideration
After learning that the legislation could be amended to allocate a specific amount for construction of sewer projects, Holmes moved for reconsideration.
Following a more than 20-minute recess, when the mayor, Tom Angelo and council members huddled around a calculator, the legislation was amended, allocating 31 percent of the 76-cent increase to construction; 15 percent to a reserve fund; and 54 percent to operation, maintenance and replacement at the plant. A provision requiring council to approve any changes also was added.
Hartman voted against the amended legislation. The other seven council members attending the meeting supported it, and the legislation passed. Marchese and Councilman Brendan J. Keating, D-5th, were absent.
Holmes said he wanted the amount for construction specified in the legislation.
"I more than anybody understand there's a problem, but I was not going to give in until it was in there," he said.
Hartman doesn't believe she was given information in a timely manner and said the vote allows the status quo in the department.
Falling revenues
The mayor and Tom Angelo have said the increase was needed because of an anticipated shortfall in the water pollution control department, which has experienced falling revenues the past few years.
They and a consultant that performed a sewer rate study listed decreasing population, water conservation, and a decreased industrial and commercial base as reasons the department's revenues have dropped.
Tom Angelo said the increase will generate $2.6 million in 2004, but the department may have to temporarily shut down some equipment to save costs before the end of the year. He also hopes that council will appropriate $535,000 in a water pollution control rainy day fund to help the department meet expenses through year's end.
Holmes and Pugh demonstrated leadership in changing their votes to do what's best for residents, Tom Angelo said.
"Unfortunately, not everyone shared their view," he said without elaborating.