By CHASTITY RICHARDSON
(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) – The City Council adopted an $18 million budget Monday that will eliminate deficit spending.
City Manager Paula Hertwig-Hopkins said city officials used specific guidelines to eliminate deficit spending, continue to grow revenue and maintain sustainability.
Hertwig-Hopkins said the new budget helps meet the rising cost of health insurance premiums and provides a sustainable pension plan.
“I believe that you will find this budget proposal furthering the city’s accomplishments in this area,” Hertwig-Hopkins said.
In other business, Patrick Young, of HDR Engineering Inc., presented the results of the annual sewer rate review for the city. His presentation was followed by a public hearing to consider sewer rate volume charges for the upcoming 2014 fiscal year.
Young said the city bases sewer volume charges on actual water usage or an average, whichever is lower. Currently, customers are billed the same regardless of their usage because the water consumption is measured through a water meter. Diane Merryman a new resident of Warrensburg from Springfield, Mo., said the charges are unfair.
“It penalizes people like me because I’m a small water user and I would have to pay for the users that use greater amounts of water to fill their pools and water their grass,” Merryman said. “I will have to pay $42 a month for the next nine months.”