Piedmont City Council Prepares to Pass Budget, Tax Increases

Completing the , the Piedmont City Council reviewed projections for the administration department and finalized plans for municipal services and sewer tax increases in a budget hearing Monday night, June 6.

The result was overall approval, with an official vote on the 2011-12 fiscal year budget and the tax increases to take place at the next council meeting June 20.

Just one member of the public commented on the city's proposal to increase taxes for municipal services and sewers. 

"Over the last couple of years we've seen the municipal service parcel tax go up each year except for one," said George Childs, who told council members they should not escalate the cost. 

"We're talking about 50 cents a month," responded Mayor Dean Barbieri.

If approved, the municipal services tax will increase by between $4 and $9 per year for single family residences, depending on parcel size. The rate will increase by $9 per year for commercial properties of less than 10,000 square feet, and $13 for commercial properties above 10,000 square feet. Multi-family residences will see an increase of $3 per year. The estimated revenue from this rate change is $22,950. Annual increases in the municipal services tax rate are based on the Consumer Price Index.

The City of Piedmont expects to spend substantially more money over the next few years upgrading its sewer system to comply with EPA mandates. The projected cost of sewer monitoring and upgrades is expected to double next year, from $450,000 in 2010-11 to $961,100 in 2011-12. By 2014, the city is projecting costs to escalate to more than a million dollars. 

In order to cover the cost for the coming fiscal years, city staff are proposing that the maximum sewer tax rate be adopted—an increase in the sewer tax rate of between $7 and $13 per year for single family homes, based on parcel size. Commercial properties will see an increase of $13 for under 10,000 square feet and $17 for over 10,000 square feet. The sewer tax increase will mean an additional $6 for multi-family residences. The city expects revenue of $31,200 from the increased sewer tax rate. 

Public Works Director Chester Nakahara explained that two-thirds of the projected sewer maintenance cost per year is for monitoring, testing and reporting. A "small portion" is for professional services, Nakahara said. The rest will be used for replacing pipes. Although the EPA has been strict about compliance with their regulations, Nakahara said that there is a possibility positive test results throughout the process could lead to lighter mandates and a lessened financial burden.

You may view Finance Director Mark Bichsel's report on the tax increases here.

To complete the review of the overall budget for next year, the council reviewed projections from the administration department.

The administration budget included a $61,000 fee to purchase new business license software, which would allow Piedmont to issue business licenses to anyone wanting to do business in the city. This is a new cost for Piedmont, since the city has been utilizing free software as a "test bed" until now. 

Interim City Clerk John Tulloch told to the council that $55,000 has also been budgeted for the election in February 2012. The total cost could be less if there are contested elections for the school board, which would require the school board to pay a share of its election fees.

The next and final budget hearing will take place on Monday, June 20, and will provide an opportunity for public comment before the budget is approved. 

"We're not going to go through each item again," said Mayor Dean Barbieri.