Niles council repeals 2 $5 license-plate fees

BY JORDAN COHEN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NILES — True to their words, city council members voted unanimously Wednesday to repeal two $5 license-plate fees, but residents will still have to pay the $10 in 2010 despite council’s action.

Earlier this month, council learned that the repeal was too late for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which requires such actions be taken 90 days before the end of the year.

That was impossible for council, which had enacted the fees last October so the city could collect them if countywide voters approved two similar $5 fees on the November ballot. At the time, council promised to repeal the fees if the county issues were defeated, which they were in November.

“We plan to sit down in a roundtable in January to see what options we have before going to a public hearing,” said Steve Papalas, finance committee chairman. “We’ve been getting some suggestions such as using the revenue for a bike trail or putting it towards memberships at the Wellness Center for those who pay the fees.”

Another option suggested earlier this month by Mayor Ralph Infante is to subtract the fees from water and electric utility bills.

The $10 additional fees will no longer be collected in 2011. The city’s existing $5 license-plate tax is not affected.

Council also unanimously approved its 2010 budget with a general fund of $15.7 million, a decrease of nearly 7 percent from the 2009 figure of $16.9 million.

“We have no layoffs and cut back a lot, but I think we’re doing pretty fine,” Infante told council.

Infante and Auditor Charles Nader had hoped to reduce the entire budget by 10 percent, but Nader said an increase in the cost of medical-insurance premiums kept the city from reaching its goal.

“Our hospitalization went up nearly 40 percent from $2.4 million to $3.4 million, and that was a bit much for us to overcome,” Nader said.

The auditor said he hopes the city will be able to carry over some funds from this year that would provide additional revenue for the budget but does not expect to have a figure available until February.