By PAULENE POPARAD
Porter officials authorized preparation of an ordinance Tuesday creating a
new $4 monthly user fee to pay for unfunded federal mandates triggered by
the MS4 stormwater protection program.
The fee, recommended by the Porter Stormwater Management Board, would be
assessed on the owner of each parcel located in Porter. Stormwater Board
President Roger Abraham said the fee was based on the town having 5,062
properties and the amount of water discharged in a 100-year storm event.
Abraham said the fee is only interim and more calculation is needed to
determine a fee for commercial and industrial sites, and for sites over 10
acres in size. For the time being, those parcels will pay the $4 fee for an
equivalent residential unit.
The fee will fund the Stormwater Board’s costs and charges related to MS4,
and for stormwater improvements in general, said Abraham. This year’s budget
was set at $250,000 although there was no mechanism to fund it. In 2006 a
line item has been added to the sewer fund to receipt income from a
stormwater user fee.
The Town Council long had been made aware that the user fee recommendation
was coming and members had little comment Tuesday. The fee will be added to
town sewer bills, which already were hit this year with a more than 30
percent rate increase to pay for a jump in sewage-treatment rates from
Chesterton.
In August that town enacted a monthly interim stormwater user fee of $5 per
residential parcel or lot, and $10 per non-residential parcel or lot. Burns
Harbor, with a population of less than 1,000 residents, has not been
required to come under the MS4 program requirements.
In a related matter, Porter resident Kenneth Young questioned the accuracy
of his sewer bill, which is based on water consumption. “I wish somebody
would look into this,” he told the council. “I’d have to leave the hose
running and take a bath every 15 minutes.”
Abraham, too, said his water consumption purportedly tripled and still is
unreasonably high after having a new water meter installed despite the whole
family having been gone two weeks. Sexton said other residents have
complained about unexplained jumps in water bills as well and referred
everyone to Indiana American Water Co.
A planned discussion of summer sewer rates that give residents a break on
bills when water is used for outdoor purposes not requiring sewage treatment
was deferred in the absence of council member Jennifer Granat.
In other business Tuesday:
• Set children’s Trick or Treat for Oct. 31, Halloween night, from 5:30 p.m.
to 8 p.m. Burns Harbor and Chesterton have yet to set their date and hours.
• The council unanimously granted Able Disposal an extension to Dec. 31 of
its contract for trash collection under the current terms. The service will
be bid for 2006.
• By consensus council members approved creation of an accident-review
committee comprised of employees of the police, volunteer Fire Department,
public works, park and clerk-treasurer’s departments; they will review
accidents involving town vehicles to determine if safety can be improved.
The committee is not punitive in nature and will help the town’s insurance
rates. The council also agreed to add uninsured motorist coverage to its
policy.
• Clerk-treasurer Carol Pomeroy said the town received $18,463 in county
economic development income tax money or $206,700 for the year.
• With proposals just $275 apart, council members Sandi Snyder and Granat
were asked to meet with representatives of the two firms seeking to codify
town ordinances into one municipal code. Sexton and councilman Paul
Childress agreed to do the same to review a software proposal.
• It was agreed employees will have to pay for keys they lose for town
buildings and/or equipment.
• It was reported construction has begun on sanitary sewers for Munson
Place, the town’s newest light-industrial park, and that water lines are
being installed at Porter Beach for the National Park Service’s new parking
lot and restrooms.
• No action was taken on the new animal control ordinance.
Posted 9/28/2005
