Editor, Times-Union: At Silver Lake’s December, January and February meetings there’s been an ongoing effort to convince the council not to start charging water customers $4.74/month for hydrant rent in addition to increasing water bills. Previously, hydrant rent was paid to the water department with tax monies from the town general fund.
On behalf of water customers who will have a hard time just paying a higher water bill without adding hydrant rent, Teresa Howell and I both asked for spending to be reduced and changes made to the budget before charging hydrant rent. We were told hydrant rent wasn’t included in the 2012 budget and $50,000 would still have to be cut from the general fund. Councilman Chad Miner said, “If you have suggestions to how we can save more money I am willing to sit down and hear it.”
I tried to set up a meeting but was told Miner wanted a list of budget cuts before we met. Howell made a list using 2011 expenses she received from the clerk-treasurer’s office. Even with adding increases for 2012 she still found approximately $43,000 that had been overbudgeted, which is more than enough to restore hydrant rent to the general fund. At the January meeting I asked Miner if he had looked at the list. He asked a few questions about some of the cuts but didn’t seem interested. At that point, I had a feeling our help wasn’t wanted and there wouldn’t be a meeting.
After finding out no money had to be cut from the general fund, we again asked at the February meeting that water customers not be charged for hydrant rent. It came out in the meeting the town already has a deficit in the general fund from past overspending.
Miner said he thought there were places that were overbudgeted and they’re going to cut costs but they didn’t want to make any changes because they want “an excess, a cushion.” As we tried to discuss how wrong this was to citizens, I felt we were talked to as if we didn’t understand a town budget, as if we had never prepared or followed one. A note on February’s agenda stating “please hold all comments until the citizen portion” shows the council doesn’t want citizen input on any decisions even though they’re supposed to represent the citizens.
So what it comes down to is: hydrant rent was left out of the budget; cuts don’t have to be made to the general fund; more money was budgeted than needed and council is unwilling to rework the budget to restore hydrant rent so the town can have “an excess, a cushion.”
We tried but the council won’t compromise. Silver Lake’s budget is one of the highest in the county but it isn’t enough for them. Even if citizens don’t have an excess or cushion and it may be a hardship for them, the council still wants them to pay for getting the town out of a deficit the citizens didn’t create.
