Despite an uncertain impact from the coronovirus pandemic on tax collection, the village of North Lewisburg isn’t in panic mode.
Village council viewed the 2021 temporary budget at Tuesday night’s meeting and found that estimated revenue and expenditure numbers were generally unchanged from last year. This comes despite the fact that a great deal of the village revenue comes from its 1% income tax which could fluctuate in the wake of the virus when compared to government entities relying on property taxes.
Administrator Andy Yoder said the village generally budgets conservatively. He said estimated revenue for 2021 has been set at $1,223,450, a similar figure to 2020. Yoder said he did not factor in an increase in revenue, despite the fact that the village income tax has been generating a growing amount of money year after year.
The temporary budget set estimated expenditures at $1,315,710. Yoder said no great reductions have been put in place yet, admitting that the small size of the village operation allows it to make cuts later in the year if income tax and gas tax revenue appears to be declining.
The temporary budget estimates income tax revenue at $300,000 going into 2021 and puts gas tax revenue at $80,000.
Yoder said the Regional Income Tax Authority will have a better handle on projecting the income tax impact in August, after some midyear tax collections are made.
Yoder said if adjustments are needed in projected expenditures, they can be built into the permanent budget that sees preparation begin late in the year.
Council also unanimously approved a resolution to end the suspension of late fees for village utility customers, implemented in the wake of coronovirus related layoffs. The late fees will begin being assessed again on the next billing cycle.
But fees of another kind drew a lengthy discussion to close out the meeting. Resident Steve Roberts approached council about a $100 fee he was assessed by the village to turn his water back on after spending the winter in Florida.
Roberts, who has lived in his current home on Gregory Street for four or five years, said he shuts off his water and clears the lines each year before he leaves in order to guard against frozen pipes and leaks.
This year when he returned, he found a lock on the shutoff valve in front of his home. The lock was removed by a village employee but the homeowner was assessed a $100 fee. Roberts said the lock and the fee were something that the village has never applied in previous years.
Yoder said the fee represents the village’s charge to reconnect residents to the water supply on the weekends. Reconnections during a weeknight are assessed a $60 fee, while workday reconnections are $30.
Yoder explained that Roberts’ situation was unique because the lock was not placed on his water supply because of non-payment for services. He said Roberts gets into the village-owned shutoff valve box and turns the water off himself.
Yoder and mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth said that Roberts has been asked repeatedly not to shut his own water off, but instead call village crews to do it.
Council member John Collier asked if the village has a process in place to lock out residents who tamper with their village-owned valves. Yoder said there is not, but technically the tactic is a criminal offense in that it deals with public services and he could use law enforcement to document the activity.
Yoder said the solution for Roberts would be to install his own valve between the village shutoff and his home, allowing him to turn his water off as he pleases. Roberts said he would do that immediately.
Collier made a motion to reduce the $100 fee to $30, the cost of a normal reconnection. The issue passed with only council member Ted Murphy voting no.