OSWEGO – Reduced water and sewer bills dominated the evening’s discussion during the Oswego Common Council meeting on Monday, March 8.
A resolution was voted on and unanimously passed that would lower sewer and water rates for residents by $100 annually; a goal Mayor Billy Barlow and the council decisively worked toward since the beginning of the mayor’s first term in office.
Councilor Robert Corradino spoke passionately about the new legislation, and the positive impact it would have on the community; also reflecting on the prior administration’s vote for a substantial increase in water and sewer bills for Oswego residents during their final Common Council meeting in December of 2015.
“In 2015, I was sitting in the gallery when this was voted on, and it passed. Little did I know several weeks later when I’m sitting over here, how huge of an issue this was,” Corradino said. “It really hit home when I got two [phone] calls. One was a senior citizen; [an] elderly gentleman who was a widow, who was having difficulty paying his mortgage [and] paying his water bill. Because the water bill at that time after the raise was $1,100 a year. It just tugged at my heart to hear his story and his saying, ‘Please, can you do something about it?’ Of course, that was January of 2016, and there wasn’t much we could do at that point… And then I got another call from a single mom with three kids and two jobs, and she was struggling to make ends meet. I mean, these are the people that we are here to help and serve. And when we vote on this, and I’m sure it will pass, I will be thinking, especially about those two people who called me. I didn’t want this to be voted on and passed along just as a regular resolution… I think this has a huge impact on our community.”
Corradino thanked Barlow and administrators for their hard work in making the resolution come to fruition.
The new reduction will be a $100 annually in water and sewer fees, a cut of $25 per quarter. The new legislation will now cover all consumers. The first water reduction legislation was implemented in the spring of 2019 for flat rate users only, with a $200 dollar annual reduction.
The current flat rate is $150 for sewer and $75 for water. The new proposal will have a lowered rate of $115 for sewer, with a slight increase in water of $85. The increase in water is due to upcoming work at the water plant. The two amounts are sill indicative of the lowered rate. Quarterly amounts will add up to $200 instead of $225 per term.
The current metered rate is $150 for sewer and $55 for water, equaling to $205 per quarter. The new rate will be $115 for sewer and $65 for water, balancing out at $180 per quarter.
Another water/sewer bill reduction proposal voted on and unanimously passed, was centered around an amendment to the City Code Chapter 224. Barlow said a mistake was inadvertently made back in 2019 when the city readjusted its tax and water exemptions for city residents.
The adjustment accidentally reduced the overall income percentage, having the most impact on lower income brackets with a water bill increase of $30-$40. The issue did not come to Barlow’s attention until late 2020. At last week’s committee meeting, Barlow said it made sense to correct this item while the city is adjusting the sewer and water rates.
Other items unanimously passed by the Common Council are as follows:
- Approve minutes from February 22, 2021 Common Council meeting.
- Appoint Commissioner of Deeds.
- Grant a Variance of Noise Ordinance to the H. Lee White Maritime Museum for Maritime Music Night.
- Accept donation of a bench from Kory Donovan and Kay Pullen in honor of Roger Pullen.
- Accept bid submitted to W.D. Malone Trucking and Excavating, Inc. for Alternate One and Two for the International Pier Stabilization Project.
- Approve bid submitted by Kenyon Pipeline Inspection, LLC. for the Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Third 25 percent and the Combined Sewer Rehabilitation Project Fourth 25 percent.
- Approve bid from Kenyon Pipeline Inspection, LLC. for the Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project Area 3.
- Approve bid submitted by Cummins sales and Service for the Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project.
- Approve bid submitted by Anthony Pauldine General Contractors, Inc. to provide miscellaneous services related to Code Enforcement complaints.
- Authorize City Chamberlin to complete a transfer of funds from the General Fund Contingent Account to the Police Miscellaneous Account for the purchase and training of a Belgian Malinois Canine and authorize the sale of canine CRIXUS to his current handler.
- Authorize transfer of funds to pay Crisafulli Trucking for work completed at 268 W. Fifth St. and 80 Tallman St.
- Authorize the Office of Economic Development to submit a grant application in the amount $55,000 to the Shineman Foundation to launch Heroes and Neighbors Program.
Common Council meetings are held the second and fourth Mondays of every month. The next meeting will be held on March 22 at 7:30 p.m. To view the full agenda, please click here.
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