By FRANK LEWIS
PDT Staff Writer
Portsmouth residents might soon see an increase in their sanitation rates every year automatically without having each one authorized by Portsmouth City Council.
In Monday’s Mayor’s Conference Agenda, Portsmouth Mayor David Malone asked for legislation to be prepared to raise sanitation rates by 9 percent. The legislation would set up a separate fund titled Number 632, which would be the companion fund to Number 631, the Sanitation Capital Fund.
“The fund would be designated for major things that they would need — capital improvements, trucks, transfer station, replacements,” City Auditor Trent Williams said.
“That’s what they’re using 631 for now,” Portsmouth Council President John Haas said.
“And you have all this money sitting in 631, and maybe you need a couple of hundred thousand each year for capital improvements, your argument on the other side would be, ‘We don’t care if you need it or not. We need it for salaries.’ This segregates it so it can only be used for capital improvements,” Williams said.
The conversation then went into possibly putting a 2.5 percent increase per year from now on. Williams said Scioto County Commissioners had enacted such a system several years ago.
“Trent told me that a couple of years ago and I thought we should implement that as well,” Malone said. “If that’s something that Council wishes to do we can actually put together a resolution or ordinance to have that built in.”
“It looks like we’ve gone up 9 percent in five years — from 2007 to 2012,” Haas said. “That’s two percent a year. We could just set it at 2 to 2.5 percent a year, and we wouldn’t have to come back unless there’s some emergency.”
After the discussion, Council chose to have Malone, Williams and Portsmouth City Solicitor Mike Jones to get together and decide on what percentage from 2 percent to 3 percent, and also to determine what percentage would go into the operation fund 631, and what percentage would go into the sanitation capital fund, and bring their findings back to City Council.
Frank Lewis may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 232, or at flewis@heartlandpublications.com.
2. CAN A CITY COUNCIL COMMIT FUTURE CITY COUNCILS? WHAT'S THE ORC'S AND CITY CHARTER SAY, SOLICITOR JONES? (THE ONE WHO CAN NOT RUN A CLEAN BUSINESS WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.)
3. OH THE COUNTY DOES IT TOO, AND LOOK WHERE THEY ARE, IN THE 4TH OR 5TH YEAR IN MILLIONS OF DEFICITS. BOTH THE COUNTY AND CITY LEADERS ARE LIKE THE KEYSTONE KOPS. BIRDS OF A FEATHER........
4. SOLICITOR JONES, IS IT A RESOLUTION OR AN ORDINANCE? YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH 2 OTHER CITIES IN OHIO.
5. FRANK, JONES IS THE SOLICITOR NOT THE AUDITOR. THEY GOT YOU BLURRY EYED TOO HUH. WHERE'S MESSERLY'S PROOF READERS, FOR YA, HAH.
6. HERE COME THE ALLSEEINGEYE LOW LIFE. WHO WILL TURN THE LIGHTS OUT, FOR S/HE AND THEY ARE STRANGLING THE LIFE OUT OF WHAT'S LEFT OF THE LIFE IN THIS TOWN......PEOPLE ARE DYING MORE AND FASTER OUT THERE ESPECIALLY THE MEN.
7. OH, WHAT IS THE "LEGAL DEFINITION" OF A CIP ITEM, PER THE ORC, AND THE CITY CHARTER SINCE THE STATE OF OHIO CLAIMS THIS IS A HOME RULE STATE????
How many times have they raised water and sewer fees the past 10 years ? 11 or 12 time ? I lost track.
They want to spend more money on a City Building, they already own the biggest collection of buildings in the state of Ohio.
They pass in come tax increase, but before they get one penny from it, they have already paid down over half of their deficit.
No money to keep the Hilltop Fire Station open, but again, before they get any of the income tax increase money to fund the station, they mysteriously found money to open it up again.
If you live in the City of Portsmouth, you alread pay more for your License Tags than those who live in the county, but they dont pave any streets.
They have abated enough property tax in the city to those who least need it to pay off all of their bills and have all the city buildings they want, go check how many millions of free dollars they are losing from abating the wealthier peoples property in the city.
All of this above foolishness, but you never ever hear any of them in the city government discuss jobs at council meetings.
They have formed how many committees on getting another city building ? A lot. How many on recruiting industry and business ? ZERO !
People in the city are broke, but they keep spending more money and raising fees and taxes.
If you drive to Huntington, Ashland, Chillicothe, and just up the road to New Boston, You will find nice indoor malls or nice strip malls. There are none in Portsmouth. All of those cities actively recruit industry and business which create jobs and tax money. What has Portsmouth recruited ? Nothing.
I love the letter to the editor I read the other day, telling about how 3 people on the city council have filed personal bankruptcy, and those same people are making your budgets and spending your tax money, when they cant run their own budgets at home !
To the graduating seniors. If you want to be successful in life run as far away from Portsmouth and Scioto County as you can and do it fast.
Hey mayor and city council ? When are you going to start recruiting industry ?
This will not effect over half of Portsmouth but it's not fare to those that have to pay for those that don't pay a dime to the city.
They are looking at a new city building, guess who gets to pay for that fiasco ? Right the property owners your next in line.
Just think they did a recall on the last Mayor and she didn't do nothing like these clowns are doing to you, maybe you'll have to file bankruptcy ,just like they did.