LOWER BURRELL - City council passed the 2007 budget Monday night without a tax increase, but sewer usage fees will increase 3 percent next year.
The increase will add 92 cents to the base operating rate each quarter and 8 cents for every 100 cubic feet of water.
Mayor Donald Kinosz estimates that a family of four uses about 2,000 cubic feet of water per quarter. That currently costs $103.75, so the overall rate increase would add $2.52 each quarter for a total of $106.27.
It has been six years since the last sewer rate increase.
Finance chairman David Regoli said the state Department of Environmental Resources water quality regulations put major pressure on treatment plant operating costs.
Error costs fire department
The fire companies lost $6,000 because Public Safety Chairman Joseph Grillo did not submit a budget for fire departments' gasoline allocations.
Grillo eventually shuffled money from each of the city's four companies' budgets to reconcile the likely shortfall. Because there was no gas proposal for the 2007 budget, the budget line defaulted to the $8,800 set aside for 2006, which is projected to be $10,000 short.
"He took money from one pocket and put it in another," Regoli said. "With more notice, we could have taken money for lower-priority road improvements and given the fire departments more gas money without this kind of problem."
Grillo admitted that he did not submit a gasoline allocation for the budget.
Grillo said the city could have raised $10,000 for the allocation by raising taxes $1.60 per household.
"I, myself, would rather pay more money," Grillo said. "I don't think you can put a price on good public safety."
Before submitting a gas proposal, the public safety chairman should meet with the fire companies to determine their needs, Regoli said.
Grillo did not arrange a meeting until Nov. 29, after the budget was due for a vote.
"Volunteer firefighters have their day jobs, too," Grillo said. "It's hard to get all of them together at once."
Council passed the budget Monday night because adding an additional meeting to finalize the budget would have cost $800 to buy requisite newspaper advertisements and pay council's staff.
"I'm proud to say we have the lowest taxes of any third-class city in Westmoreland County, but it's going to be harder and harder to pass budgets without increasing the tax rate," Regoli said, attributing budget pressure to unfunded state mandates. "When 80 percent of your budget costs are fixed, you don't have much room to maneuver."
