By Chris Munzing
Theofan, however, said that raising the fees, after years of not doing so, was necessary to bring the city in line with other municipalities.
Kelly and Remo both voted against increases in water usage rates, garbage collection fees, mercantile license fees and security-system fees at Tuesday night's City Council meeting. Remo also voted against a hike in animal euthanasia fees. An increase in the fee for a daily beach pass from $6 to $7 passed unanimously.
Water rates will increase 15 percent, after a 30 percent rise last year. Theofan said the increase is necessary to make the water fund self-sufficient, as is required by law, and added that he was confident this would make it so.
The quarterly rate for water use is a minimum of $3.29 per thousand gallons, up from $2.86, with a minimum quarterly charge of $39.47, up from $34.32. A water-conservation surcharge will be applied for usage above 150,000 gallons. The charge for the use of 150,001 to 300,000 gallons is $3.35 per thousand gallons; for 300,001 to 600,000 gallons it rises to $3.51 per thousand gallons; and the use of more than 600,000 gallons runs $3.85 per thousand gallons.
Garbage collection fees were also increased for property holding one or more residential units, from $290 to $325 annually. Theofan said that the garbage fee increases are long overdue, as costs have increased dramatically since 2002.
In three years, Theofan said, employee salaries have gone up 13 percent, diesel fuel has risen from 75 cents to $1.75 per gallon, and the cost for disposal in Babylon has gone from $67 to $75 per ton.
The permit fee for a home or business security alarm from a private company rose to $75 for three years. Theofan said this fee brings the city in line with other municipalities. The reason for the charge, Theofan added, is because Long Beach resources respond to the alarms.
Pet euthanasia fees also jumped, to $100 per cat and $150 per dog.
Yearly mercantile fees for businesses within the city were doubled, after not having increased since 1996. Theofan said that the costs of enforcing mercantile fees and the manpower involved in making sure businesses are up to code was a factor in raising the fees. "This the simplest way to ensure businesses in this city are in line with the city codes," Theofan said.
Remo and Kelly raised concerns throughout the meeting that the mercantile fees were arbitrary and appeared to have no reason behind them. Remo suggested postponing the vote for a month so that a more fair system of fees could be written. Theofan said that since the fees weren't due until November, the council could pass the measure now and revisit it later.
Remo questioned the reasoning behind approving items that weren't immediately necessary, and hiking fees while the coalition majority promises no tax increase. "Everyone understands how important it is to streamline government, both for costs and productivity," Remo said. "I don't understand why resolutions are being brought before the City Council that, by the Republican majority's own admission, will need to be revisited. I also don't understand why they refuse to have discussions with me and Councilman Kelly, so that these resolutions can be thought through collectively and brought before the public one time instead of twice."
"We have to balance this budget," City Council President Jim Hennessy said. "We have to restore fiscal stability. In the last days of the previous administration, they passed $4.7 million in bonds. We inherited a huge financial problem, but we are not going to raise taxes. In all of our discussions as a council, Remo and Kelly have not offered one solution except tax increases. And we're not going to do that."
"I asked to have discussions on numerous issues that have been ignored," Remo responded. "I wish Mr. Hennessy would realize that there's a distinction between tax increases and tax relief."
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