The Salem City Council Tuesday night will consider water, sewer and trash rate increases, as well as two tax increment financing district agreements for future developments.
The meeting is pushed back from the normal Monday nighttime due to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior Holiday.
City Manager Annette Sola is recommending the council adopt a 2.5-percent increase in the water/sewer rate and a $1 per month increase in the garbage rate recommended by Finance Director Keli Barrow. She reports chemical costs and infrastructure updates are the two main increases that the water department continues to deal with. Barrow says for an average home that uses approximately 3,000 gallons of water per month the increase will be roughly $1.50 per month. She notes an annual increase of 2.5 percent each year in January should eliminate the need for a much larger increase down the road as costs continue to go up.
In April, the trash collection will turn to totes that will be distributed to each customer and will be picked up on the normal schedule. As outlined in the contract, the costs will also increase at that time. The $1.00 increase will help offset the cost and will continue to help support the deficit in the landfill budget due to additional testing requirements and grounds maintenance.
Economic Development Director Leah Dellicarpini has requested approval of two separate Tax Increment Financing District agreements to allow separate projects to move forward. One is a residential development by Micah Mulvaney at Marion and Lake Streets. The other is for Glen Henderson of Salem Tire Center for a commercial development expansion project.
Recreation Director Jed Casburn has outlined how he would like the pre-fireworks entertainment to be held on July 4th. He is proposing hiring one band, Sojourn Rocs, to play music from a flatbed trailer set up along the north fence of the tennis courts from 6 until 8:30 pm. Casburn says food trucks would be set up from the stage area to the reservoir, which would allow them to remain open through the fireworks display. He is seeking permission to enter into a $2,000 contract with Sojourn Rocs.
A closed session is scheduled to review close session minutes and a request for a land donation.
The meeting begins at six Tuesday night at Salem City Hall.
