CITY'S WATER, TRASH FEES GO UP JULY 1; PROJECTED SXURPLUSS WILL PAY OFF INDEBTEDNESS, SAYS CITY

Water and trash-collection fee increases will go into effect July 1 for Cape Girardeau residents.

The City Council Monday night gave final approval to increases of 2 percent in water fees and 2.1 percent in trash-collection fees but included a stipulation: A projected surplus in the city's solid-waste fund must be used to pay off part of the principal of an outstanding loan made years ago from the general fund to the solid-waste program.

Asking for a rate increase when there is a projected revenue surplus "doesn't look real good," conceded John Richbourg, the city's finance director. But the projected surplus of approximately $164,000 comes from a number of "unusual factors" and cost-cutting measures that probably won't happen again, Richbourg said.

"This is not something we think will be reoccurring or we wouldn't have to be asking for a rate increase," he said.

The fee increases are needed to offset increased operating costs for both the water and trash-collection services, city officials said. With the fee increases included, the 1998-99 fiscal year budget still shows expenditures exceeding revenue in water and sewer services, Richbourg said.

The trash-collection fee increase will generate an estimated $31,500 in additional revenue and will increase the monthly trash-collection fee from $12.73 to $13 monthly. The water fee increase will generate an estimated $80,000, and the average residential water bill will increase from $15.29 to $15.59 per month.

The city had budgeted $2,414,195 in revenue and $2,727,734 in expenses for the solid-waste fund for the current fiscal year that ends June 30. But projections now show that revenues will actually total $2,179,506 and expenditures will be $2,015,373.

The shortfall will be made up from existing fund balances.

Several factors came into play to change those figures, and not all of them were good, Richbourg said.

The city lost a $385,000 contract with CWI Waste Inc., to haul waste to the Cape Girardeau transfer station.

In response to the loss of the contract revenue, the city Department of Public Works took several steps to cut expenditures, Richbourg said. Personnel costs were cut from a budgeted $920,056 to a projected $826,451. Eliminating two positions -- one employee was transferred, and an existing vacancy was not filled -- saved an estimated $50,000 of that total cut in personnel spending. Reductions in overtime and part-time personnel accounted for another approximately $33,000 in savings, and the remainder came from not replacing employees on sick leave.

The loss of the contract also meant operating expenses for the transfer station would be lower since less waste would be handled.

Doug Leslie, director of the Department of Public Works, said the city also cut operating hours at the transfer station. It is now closed on Saturdays, which saves an estimated $5,000 to $7,000 annually.

The biggest cuts came in capital outlay, budgeted at $355,850, but actual expenditures are projected at $37,151.

Cuts included canceling approximately $154,000 worth of improvements to the transfer station, not purchasing a new recycling vehicle at a cost of approximately $100,000, and canceling improvements totalling approximately $60,000 to the city's recycling facility.

Expenditures for fleet maintenance and supplies also came in well under budget, Richbourg said.

"I guess we got awfully conservative in cutting expenses," he said.

On the revenue side, about $18,000 of the total was made up of one-time revenues, including a grant, corrected bad bills and other sources, Richbourg said.

"Most of those items are items we can't count on happening again next year," he said.

The projected surplus in the solid-waste fund will be transferred back to the city's general revenue fund to help pay off a $950,000 loan that dates back several years. For the last few years only the interest on the loan has been paid.

City Council members said working to pay off the principal of the loan makes good business sense and will help the city pay down its debt.