Uniontown council approves increases in tax, sewage rates
Uniontown City Council gave final approval to the 2005 budget that holds the line on real estate taxes, but raises both the occupational privilege (OP) tax and sewage service rates. Council members voted unanimously in favor of the $6.5 million budget, which included the new $52 per year OP tax, at a special meeting Monday, and 3-1 for the sewage fee hike to $28 per month or $84 a quarter.
The real estate tax rate will remain at 6.735 mills.
Councilman Joseph Giachetti voted against raising the sewage fee.
Councilman Blair R. Jones Sr. passed his turn to vote and did not record an affirmative or negative vote.
Councilmen Bob Cerjanec, Gary Crozier and Mayor James Sileo voted for both measures.
The current OP tax is $10 a year and the current sewage rate is $18 per month or $54 a quarter.
Giachetti said he has received a number of calls from elderly residents who said they wanted to pay the sewage bill monthly instead of quarterly.
Cerjanec, the director of accounts and finance, said the billing schedule is an internal matter and changing to monthly billing would increase expenses.
Crozier said residents can send checks monthly and those payments will be credited toward their bill.
Cerjanec said switching to monthly billing is not a problem, “it’s just a matter of how.”
Sileo said he doesn’t like raising the fees, but council had to do it.
Jones said he wasn’t opposed to the increase, but he wanted to make sure residents know they can pay monthly. He said he also received complaints about the increase.
“I guarantee we’re going to do it,” Cerjanec said, about monthly billing.
He said bills would either be mailed to residents monthly or the quarterly bills will have stamps or stickers that residents can send or bring in monthly.
The sewage fees, which the city’s 6,148 customers pay, were increased to raise money to pay off a $6 million loan the city borrowed to separate sanitary and storm sewer lines, and its share of a $17.69 million loan that was borrowed to expand the Greater Uniontown Joint Sewage Authority plant.
Both 30-year loans from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) came with 1 percent interest rates.
The city was required to undertake both projects to comply with a state Department of Environmental Protection consent order requiring separate lines and treatment for sewage and storm water.
The DEP could assess fines of $250 a day for noncompliance, city officials said.
Repaying the sewer loans will cost the city $20,317 monthly, or $243,804 a year, for 30 years.
The city’s share of the $17.69 million plant loan is approximately $7 million or, 43 percent of the total, and its debt service is $34,986 a month or $419,932 a year.
Uniontown also pays 43 percent of the sewage authority’s operating expenses. The city’s share is $59,704 per month or $716,448 per year.
North Union and South Union townships, which share the plant with the city, are responsible for the rest of plant loan.
All three municipalities will have to come up with a combined $81,362 per month to pay off the loan.
The city foots the entire expense for its sewage department and for billing. Those costs are $40,586 per month or $487,037 per year.
Meanwhile the OP tax will impact all 7,000 who work in Uniontown regardless of where they live.
At $52 a year, the tax would generate $364,000 in revenue for the city next year.
Council has not discussed specific plans for spending the proceeds, but the money may be used for the police, fire or street departments.
The city used to evenly split the revenue from the $10 OP tax with the Uniontown Area School District. At $10, the tax generated $70,000 and half went to the school district.
The school district’s share will not increase when the higher tax goes into effect.