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NORTH MANCHESTER - North Manchester residents could have a monthly $1.50 surcharge tacked onto their utility bills to support an ambulance service provider, North Manchester town council announced Wednesday.
The monthly bills could be $30 for commercial businesses, government and public offices and $75 for industrial businesses, according to an new ordinance presented at the council meeting.
Peabody Retirement Community, Timbercrest Retirement Community and Manchester College will pay $850, $700 and $425 respectively per month, the ordinance said.
The ordinance passed unanimously. The council will have subsequent readings at the November and December council meetings.
H.J. Umbaugh & Associates, Plymouth, studied how and where North Manchester could find available funds for the service, said Todd A. Samuelson, a partner in the Umbaugh firm.
Of the three options Umbaugh provided, residences could have had as much as $2 per month tacked onto their utility bills.
The available funds need to reach $140,610 annually to cover the cost for an emergency medical service provider, according to the Umbaugh report.
The retirement communities' and the college's per-month costs were based on an economic study of historical usage of their EMS service, the ordinance said.
Dwellings within the town but not using town utilities will still be subject to the charges, the ordinance said.
Commercial businesses include retail and wholesale businesses, professional offices, agri-businesses, clinics, hotels and other businesses offering goods or services.
Churches, clubs, lodges and other nonprofit facilities and schools are under the "public" heading in the ordinance.
"Government" includes the federal, state and municipal offices and school offices.
In another matter, new applicants for water service living in single-family residences will pay a $35 deposit fee, and multiple-family units will pay a $50 fee, according to an ordinance passed on first reading yesterday.
The ordinance has two more readings before it takes effect.
The deposit and its accrued interest may be used to pay an unpaid balance following a service disconnection, the ordinance said.
In other business, the town council:
• Approved former Fort Wayne police chief Dr. Neil Moore to re-evaluate the North Manchester Police Department. The cost for the service cannot exceed $6,000, the council said. Moore is currently a professor at the Indiana Purdue University at Fort Wayne public and environmental affairs department.
• Announced Ninth Street will be closed from Beckley Street and Norfolk and Southern Railway, near Strauss Provimi Road, Oct. 14 to Nov. 14 for construction work.
• Announced fall cleanup is Oct. 18 and 19. Leaf pickup starts Oct. 28.
North Manchester town council includes president Don Rinearson, Karl Merritt, Warren Garner and Bill Hix. The town attorney is Charles Tiede. Clerk-treasurer is Nancy Reed. Town manager is Dan Hannaford. Council vice president Stan Escott was absent.
