Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Phoebe Arrington, a Greenhill Drive resident, can walk through her back yard to the right of way that runs along Maye Street.
Buried in the easement is a sewer line serving two of her neighbors to the west and one to the east.
Her property, along with nine others on Greenhill, is in the county, although three properties have Warsaw sewer service.
At the west end of Greenhill, two properties are in city limits. Another four properties to the east are also in the city.
Arrington appeared before the Warsaw city council Monday requesting her property be annexed so she can hook up to the sewer line to replace a failing septic system.
"There are a lot of advantages to being in the city," she said, ticking off the benefits on her fingers, "even though the property taxes would be up a little. We'd be on city sewer. We'd have trash pickup and we pay $74 every four months now. And the streets would be plowed and salted in the winter."
Mayor Ernie Wiggins reminded the council there are properties in the city that don't have a sewer hookup. He also said the majority of Boggs Addition residents didn't want to be part of the city a few years ago, de-annexing themselves when it was discovered their properties were in the city.
City planner Jeff Noffsinger was directed to send letters regarding annexation to the nine county residents on Greenhill. If five of the nine agree to annexation, the process can be considered voluntary.
The council cut half a million dollars from the 2002 budget, mostly in the form of planned for, but unused, salaries and overbudgeted utility expenses.
The $504,450 decrease lowers the 2003 projected tax rate 10 cents - to $1.35 per $100 assessed valuation.
Because clerk-treasurer Elaine Call figured the budget and tax levy on 81 percent of last year's assessed valuation - $532 million - the rate was high: $1.47.
Removing unused funds from one year's budget to be used for the next has the effect of lowering the next year's tax rate.
Wiggins said if another $500,000 were cut from the 2003 budget, the rate would be lowered another 10 cents.
Historically, the city sees an increase in assessed valuation, figured at $657 million in 2002.
The Department of Local Government Finance will conduct a public hearing on the 2003 budget at 1 p.m. Oct. 16 in the Munson Building. Hearings are scheduled for all taxing bodies that week.
Council members reviewed a map of the city's five districts, reworked because of population increases shown by the 2000 Census.
The greatest disparity, of about 500 residents, occurred between Districts 1 and 5, represented by Jeff Grose and Bill Rhoades. To accommodate the change, some modifications were made to Charlie Smith's District 2 also. The boundaries of Jerry Patterson's District 4 and George Clemens' District 5 were unchanged.
Wiggins said the map was presented for discussion purposes. The council approved the map at first look, however, and will sign a resolution accepting the changes at their convenience this week.
In other business, the board:
• Read letters from Center Lake Conservation Association members Bill Hilliard and Neal Carlson supporting the purchase of wetlands on the west side of the lake. The correspondence asks the city budget for $25,000 for acquisition of the property.
• Received a written recommendation from the Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission regarding North Reed Street.
A letter from traffic commissioner Kip Shuter recommends no further action be taken and the street remain as a two-way route with no parking on either side of the street.
Last spring several residents asked that the street be made one-way going south.
Interested residents are expected to comment on the recommendation at a future council meeting.
• Reviewed "panoramic" photographs of the new sewage treatment plant. The images show various construction stages of an enormous settling tank.
Council members are Jerry Patterson, Bill Rhoades, George Clemens, Jeff Grose, Joe Thallemer and Trish Brown.
