Will Erie City Council get rid of garbage, sewer fee hikes in the proposed 2022 budget?

Sewer and garbage fee increases are key revenue-generating components of Erie Mayor Joe Schember’s proposed 2022 city budget.

If Erie City Council President Ed Brzezinski gets his way, those fee hikes will disappear.

Brzezinski told the Erie Times-News that he is trying to convince his colleagues on the seven-member City Council to remove the increases from Schember’s budget plan.

Garbage, sewer fee hikes proposed: Erie Mayor Joe Schember’s 2022 city budget

The fee increases would collectively generate roughly $1.45 million in additional revenue for the city as part of Schember’s $95.7 million general fund budget proposal, which was unveiled on Nov. 3.

City Council has the final say on budget matters and the power to increase or decrease funding proposals. But if it raises a proposal in one area, council or Schember's administration must then cut from somewhere else or increase revenue to keep the budget balanced.

During budget deliberations in late 2020, a City Council majority and Schember's administration agreed to remove a proposed garbage and sewer rate increase from the city's 2021 budget.

Those proposed increases would have generated just shy of $700,000 for the 2021 spending plan.

Brzezinski said he is unsure whether there is majority support for removing the proposed 2022 sewer and garbage increases, but he wants to try.

“Get rid of those fees, and I have no problem with the budget,” Brzezinski said. “I need three other people to agree with me on that, though.

“I tell you who gets hurt by this, the people on fixed incomes and the poorest people,” Brzezinski said. “If the fee increases stay in, I won’t vote for this budget.”

Brzezinski added that with the city starting to allocate COVID-19 relief funds, such as its $76 million share of American Rescue Plan money, "we sure as heck can find a way to help the people and avoid these increases, at least for a year."

If City Council removes the increases from the budget, city reserve funds could be used to plug the revenue gap.

Council weighs in

The proposed garbage rate increase, according to city Finance Director Paul Lichtenwalter, represents roughly $850,000 in revenue for the 2021 budget. An average residential customer's yearly fees would increase to $280 from the current $261.

The sewer fee hike, according to Lichtenwalter, represents roughly $600,000 in additional revenue and would increase the average city residential customer's sewer rates from roughly $306 a year to $320.

Schember has said the sewer and garbage fee increases are necessary because of rising costs related to those two services, including higher tipping fees at Lake View Landfill in Summit Township.

Tipping fees are paid by anyone who disposes of waste at a landfill.

Schember said that, if approved, the sewer rate increase would be the first since 2019. Garbage rates were last increased in 2020.

Two members of City Council, David Brennan and Jim Winarski, said they oppose the fee increases. Brennan said he would "prefer to look at ideas to cut" city expenses or bring in new revenues.

Councilman Mel Witherspoon and Councilwoman Liz Allen said they support the increases.

"No one wants to add additional expenses to taxpayers," Allen said, "but I think the administration has made a good case."

Councilman Michael Keys and Councilwoman Kathy Schaaf said they are undecided on the fee proposals.

State law mandates that City Council approve the 2022 budget by Dec. 31. City Council has two regularly-scheduled meetings left this year, on Dec. 1 and Dec. 15.

Stormwater fee vote?

As council deliberates over sewer and garbage fees, Schember is continuing to push for a new annual stormwater fee, assessed on city property owners regardless of taxable status, to cover the multimillion-dollar costs related to ongoing stormwater system maintenance and improvements.

Council, at its regular meeting on Oct. 20, approved a first-reading ordinance that would create the new fee by a 4-3 vote.

More: Erie City Council wants more debate, details before final vote on new stormwater fee

Schember wants City Council to sign off on the stormwater fee before the end of the year. Council could take a final vote on the fee as soon as its Dec. 1 meeting.

"It could happen," Brzezinski said. "We're going to talk about that soon."

Schember has said a massive storm sewer failure on East Fifth Street underscores the need for such a fee.

Storm sewer failure: Erie's stormwater infrastructure needs at breaking point? Line bursts cost $575K, put issue in focus

City report: It will cost $10.5M to fix the crumbling sewer systems in these Erie neighborhoods

The new fee could bring the city as much as $1.7 million each year.

Under the plan, larger property owners within city limits would pay more of a yearly fee based on square footage and how much of their properties are covered by impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, streets, walkways and patios, that allow little or no stormwater infiltration into the ground.

Erie’s stormwater charge would be based on a billing unit of $24 per year for properties and a median square footage for properties of 2,136 feet.

Single-family homes in the city would pay a stormwater fee between $12 and $36 per year depending on their actual square footage.

Larger properties would pay significantly more, however, because the $24 billing unit would be multiplied by their actual square footage and the fee would take into account the actual amount of impervious area on those properties.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie City Council President won't vote for garbage, sewer fee hikes