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Canfield council proposes stormwater fee hike
CANFIELD
City council members are considering a hike to residents’ stormwater infrastructure fees for the next five years to self-fund capital improvements to the system.
A public meeting on the proposed increase is set for 6 p.m. next Wednesday at the Canfield Fairgrounds’ Fair Park, along Fair Street.
City Manager Wade Calhoun said Wednesday night all city utility customers already pay a $3 monthly fee – billed quarterly at $9 – which generates about $165,000 per year. The remaining surplus after operation and maintenance expenses, about $55,000 to $60,000 annually, goes toward capital stormwater projects, he said.
The current $9 quarterly fee has been in place since the early 2000s, Calhoun added, but officials want input on proposed fee structures as high as $30 per quarter. He said administrators are recommending increasing the fee to $24 per quarter, which they expect would generate a stormwater surplus of about $350,000 annually. Under that fee, customers would pay $5 more a month; $60 more per year.
“It’s a temporary increase to get the funding right now and, five years from now, we reassess,” Calhoun said.
Many living along Overbrook Drive shared concerns about runoff from a culvert long in disrepair that spouts a foot-high during heavy rain.
“The water runs at such a speed that it fills up one, two, three of our yards. [My neighbor’s] fish come running down his yard,” said Marlene Mikan of Overbrook Drive.
John Carney of Overbrook said he brought the problem to council’s attention in 2004, the week he moved into his home.
“I think if somebody would have taken action in ’04, these people wouldn’t be sitting here now,” he said. “It’s the same problem, year after year after year. … It used to be just my house that got the water, now it’s up seven houses.”
Council members also approved pay increases and new benefits packages for all the city’s full- and part-time nonunion employees, most notably for Calhoun, whose annual salary jumped from $101,000 in 2018 to $108,071 this year, with another increase to $110,234 set for 2020 – making him the highest-paid city employee.
Council members also extended the three-year contract for Calhoun, who started in 2018, to seven years. His contract, originally drawn to expire next year, now ends in 2024.
Police Chief Chuck Colucci’s salary rose from $105,157 in 2018 to $107,260; Finance Director Christine Clayton’s rose from $80,677 in 2018 to $82,291; Deputy Finance Director Kristen Ansevin’s hourly rate rose from $26.09 in 2018 to $31.50; and IT Manager Stephen Kolenich’s salary rose from $66,590 in 2018 to $73,000, among others.
Calhoun said the pay and benefits ordinance would have about a $17,000 impact on the city’s general fund this year, and somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 next year.
Resident Frank Micchia urged council members to stick with Calhoun’s current contract.
Councilman John Morvay said Calhoun’s pay increase contract extension was based on Calhoun’s excellent recent performance review.
“Wade has been a breath of fresh air,” he said. “He brings the ideas we need for this city. I got a guy that’s a star player. You could replace all of us [council members], but you’re not going to replace that talent there. I think it’s well worth the money.”