Second $5 utility tax increase effective January 1, 2021

WAITSBURG—In July of 2020, the Waitsburg City Council voted to implement a $10 utility tax to help fund flood recovery efforts with the increase to be implemented in two phases. The first increase of $5 went into effect immediately after the vote. The second $5 increase went into effect on January 1, 2021, and some Waitsburg residents have voiced questions over slightly higher utility bills this month.

At the time of the July meeting, the city estimated it would be responsible for $450,000.00 in flood-related repair costs, representing roughly 20% of the total cost of $1.3 million.

Before the July city council meeting, the Flood Control Committee met and discussed three options to pay for the city’s responsibility: Use of banked capacity, a $2 million general obligation bond, or the implementation of a utility tax. The committee recommended the utilty tax above the other options.

The council voted to implement the utility tax after receiving no public comment at the July 15 meeting, according to an article written by The Times. According to City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe, the utility tax was estimated to bring in $15,000 in 2020 and is expected to bring in $72,000 in 2021 with the new increase. The money will help fund continued flood improvement efforts to dikes and levees around Waitsburg.

Hinchliffe said a small portion of the riverbank near the city’s waste treatment plant, missed during the initial levee repair, will need to be covered.

Flood improvement projects for 2021 include dredging the river bed below the Preston Avenue (Highway 12) bridge and re-enforcing several areas of the Coppei riverbank near the fairgrounds to prevent future washouts.

The city has budgeted $100,000 for flood-related expenses for 2021. Hinchliffe said he was unsure if that would cover the entire expense, stating that the nature of underwater projects like dredging the river bed can incur unforeseen costs.

Dredging the river bed would remove sediment and debris from the waterway, potentially increasing the waterway’s capacity to carry water downstream.