DUBOIS – The planned budget for 2008 was revealed at the DuBois city council meeting last Tuesday. The planned year end revenue of fiscal year 2008 is $3,609,207. Projected expenditures being $3,584,478 will leave a surplus of $24,729. Also cost of Patterson avenue work was announced.
With the change in how the EMS tax works the council wanted to “hold the line”. Being the first year under the new quarterly payout system the city would only receive three quarter’s worth of the funding 2008 than in proceeding years.
“Good news is no tax increases,” said Mayor John “Herm” Suplizio.
There were first readings of three council bills that would add some taxes. Two independent bills levying a tax of $5 per resident of DuBois each per year, a taxes against taxable land and buildings. All three will take place at the start of the year. When asked about this by a member of the crowd, Solicitor Toni Cherry said they were already accounted for in the budget if you looked at it.
Plans for future changes in sewage and water pricing were also mentioned during the council meeting. At the end of 2008 or early 2009 Suplizio said that sewage will likely increase by a quarter. Anticipating possible future problems with this based on past history, Suplizio added that if lawsuits were filed by Sandy Township over this quarter increase that the rate hike would become .50 cents instead to help pay for the possible court costs.
The council also expressed a desire to see if the periodic raises in the water taxes could be done in smaller increments, but more often than the current five to ten years to reduce the sudden jumps now customary of the rises. Part of the reasoning is a series of extensive improvements and altercations to the water system that would benefit both DuBois and Sandy Township in future years.
The council also had a second reading of bill number 1812. The bill repeals a standing tax and replaces it with a local service tax of $52 per person who works in the DuBois area per year. Income from this tax can only go towards emergency services, road construction/maintenance, reduction of property taxes or property tax relief. Veterans, those who have served in the national guard in the fiscal year or suffer from a disability are exempted from paying this privilege tax.
The final cost of the work to Patterson avenue was announced at the council meeting, around $51,000. The main cost of the road work alone came to $44,074 with the difference being additional grating and drainage work at the request of several home owners. This difference would be paid entirely by those who requested the extra work. The $44,000 will be split between the city and those who own property adjoining Patterson avenue. A prior agreement has DuBois paying a third of the cost and the remaining two-thirds being split evenly among the property owners, of which DuBois owns once of the properties itself.
It was explained the reason the cost was being split evenly and not by footage was the property owners themselves asked for this system. A public hearing will held on this December 10, 6:30 pm.