| Topic: Simonson Refuses to Lay Anyone off!, Taxes people & business like a sadist | < Next Oldest | Next Newest > |
|
| Post Number: 1
|
Paul Harvey 
Group: Members
Posts: 2778
Joined: Aug. 2004
|
 |
Posted on: Jan. 14 2005,8:08 am |
|
   |
Check this out.
"Cost Hikes for Albert Lea Citizens Watch video
Updated: 01-13-2005 07:29:05 PM
(KAAL) -- Albert Lea residents and business owners are about to shoulder a significant new financial burden. Monthly bills will go up considerably to fund new storm water and lighting utilities. But 6 NEWS FIRST reporter Mark Johnson explains that the Chamber of Commerce and concerned citizens are proposing what they believe is a fairer way to come up with the money. According to Albert Lea's City Manager, formation of new storm water and lighting utilities are necessary to make needed improvements.
Victoria Simonson, Albert Lea City Manager said, "We've had a request from the watershed district to increase our street-sweeping efforts so less debris goes into the lakes and to do that takes manpower and more equipment. We've also had several infrastructure projects."
Beginning in March, residential customers will see their bills go up nearly 7 dollars a month to pay for storm water and lighting utilities- significantly more for business and industry. The city says a number of factors make the hikes necessary, including State revenue cuts, expected Federal mandates and a reduction in fees paid to the city for recreation and other services.
"There's about $600,000 in revenue tied up between these 2 utilities and if those are cut, it would mean cutting our general fund that much further. We would have to look at staff cuts when you look at those types of numbers."
City management has received a tremendous amount of public comment regarding the future utility bill increases. The chamber of commerce has joined in the protest, suggesting that citizens contact council representatives to voice their displeasure. The chamber suggests that monthly fee increases are unfair, especially to small home and property owners and that assessments should be based on property values. The chamber also believes the current system is detrimental to businesses both prospective and established.
Marjory Hamersly, Executive Director, Chamber of Commerce said, "we have some businesses that are very upset about the cost because they feel they're being assessed for something- especially the sewer water- that's ending up on their property but is coming from a number of other properties."
The vice president of Albert Lea's Alamco manufacturing-, which is looking at paying $35-hundred dollars in fees-, is among those favoring the property tax proposal.
John Forman, Vice President, Alamco said, "Some of the downtown businesses are actually the largest area that's paved so it's probably the largest user of the storm sewer but this fee is the same as somebody that has 39 acres like we are on a per-acre business."
Because the current year's budget is already set, any change would not be forthcoming until 2006. City council is expected to consider different options for funding storm water and lighting during a work session next Thursday."
It's all because Simonson and the government can't lay even one person off! Look how business must do it...
"Alliant Energy workers laid off"
In an official statement Alliant said, quote: "The decision will not impact the quality of customer service in the Minnesota-IPL Electric service area. Our employees will continue to focus on safety and providing safe, reliable and environmentally sound service.”
--------------
~I love trolling n00bs and pwning assholes~
|
 |
|
|
| Post Number: 2
|
LardStacker
Group: Members
Posts: 83
Joined: Sep. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 14 2005,8:23 am |
|
 |
Has anybody in the history of Albert Lea ever tried to trim some fat out of the budget? If so, who was it.
--------------
"I think that sometimes people forget that free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech." Liberal May 27 2005,9:02,am
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 3
|
Paul Harvey
Group: Members
Posts: 2778
Joined: Aug. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 14 2005,11:50 am |
|
|
The only one I've seen is county commissioner Belshan and you will recall how he gets ganged up on by the "gang of four".
And of course you will recall how the county adminstrator "Gabe" smashed his tape recorder.
Some people just don't like it when cost saving measures are proposed. 
--------------
~I love trolling n00bs and pwning assholes~
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 4
|
ICU812
Group: Super Administrators
Posts: 3244
Joined: Aug. 2003
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 14 2005,12:12 pm |
|
|
One thought I had the other night was the city says the wastewater department has lost x amount in 2002 x amount in 2003 and x amount in 2004. How does it lose money? Who is getting the say $500,000 it lost one year? If it is losing money someone is getting that money, where does it go to? Instead of creating these user fees have the engineers looked into why it costs so much to get rid of rainwater? Or am I cracked for not knowing?
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 5
|
Alfy Packer
Group: Members
Posts: 1197
Joined: Dec. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 14 2005,1:43 pm |
|
|
The plant was designed for a minumum as well as a maximum capacity. When the community uses less than what was designed to be its minumum load the plant continues to operated at minumum load. Not all expense can vary with load. Dead towns can be very expensive to operate.
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 6
|
usmcr
Group: Members
Posts: 922
Joined: Sep. 2003
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 14 2005,1:47 pm |
|
|
remember she must run the city like a business. thats all good and well but remember when some fool hardy cocearn dumped a whole buch of molybdenum down the sewer. if i remember it cost the city $100,000 to clean it up. why not pass this cost back to the perpertrator? i find it hard to believe that they did not know what they were doing. if the city is hard up for cash now they were then as well! 
--------------
"Do not confuse dissent with disloyalty" Edward R Murrow
Memento homo quia pulvis es, et in pulverem veverteris
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 7
|
Fighting Yeti
Group: Members
Posts: 108
Joined: Dec. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 14 2005,2:43 pm |
|
|
| Quote (usmcr @ Jan. 14 2005,1:47,pm) | | remember she must run the city like a business. |
The first thing a business would do is cut costs. She doesn't seem to understand that.
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 8
|
LardStacker
Group: Members
Posts: 83
Joined: Sep. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 15 2005,12:00 am |
|
|
I heard that waste water had 30% excess capacity and 500K shortfall in revenue because of the loss of Farmland Foods. Again, less chemicals, less labor, less work, who is responsible for reducing the cost of running waste water in Albert Lea. No one. put this grand plan together for raising our (storm sewer) taxes, and Ms. Victoria is going to ram it home. Ouch.
Dusty
Madona
--------------
"I think that sometimes people forget that free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech." Liberal May 27 2005,9:02,am
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 9
|
Paul Harvey
Group: Members
Posts: 2778
Joined: Aug. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 15 2005,12:27 am |
|
|
Not if we can help it. NOW is the time to bother your councilman and complain about these excessive and unfair taxes disguised as fees.
--------------
~I love trolling n00bs and pwning assholes~
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 10
|
southside
Group: Members
Posts: 101
Joined: Dec. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Jan. 15 2005,4:03 pm |
|
|
I recently talked to a councilman, and if this tax does not go through, there will be no new capital improvements this year.
People on this board talk about a better city, but nobody wants to pay for anything. This city has a lot of citizens who are negative about our community and reaaly are against everything. People if we want to better this community, Why don't we look at the big picture, not what it will cost us now but what are the rewards of this..
I have seen city budgets there is not much to cut thanks to our state government. The state put it more in the locals hands. He did not take it away to just be gone, it was taken away for the cities to deal with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
