New Albany Mayor Doug England will ask for a $2-per-month garbage rate increase from the City Council on Thursday, down from a $5 monthly hike request defeated on first reading Aug. 3.

A raise per household from $13.75 to $15.75 a month would cover the actual expense the city is charged by its waste hauler, Southern Indiana Waste Systems, England said.

The company does not remove yard debris, though it has been doing so in August free of charge as a trial run. The initial $5 a month hike was to cover yard waste and bulk item pickup by Southern Indiana Waste permanently.

If passed, the $2 a month increase “won’t help us pay for any new pickup,” England said.

He was finalizing the language of the ordinance Monday before submitting it to the council, which defeated the $5 measure by a count of 6-3 earlier this month.

Southern Indiana Waste charges $15.18 a month to remove trash, as sewer fees have been used to subsidize the rates for residents. England said users of the utility need to pay the actual cost, adding that it’s not a new fee.

“It’s just to balance the budget, that’s all,” England said.

Council President Dan Coffey — who voted against a trash increase on first reading — is holding judgment on the amended version of the measure until he’s able to review it.

The council will hold its first 2010 budget hearing at 6 p.m. tonight, though the city is still awaiting an approved 2009 fiscal plan from the state.

Last year, about $1.3 million had to be cut from the 2008 budget. With that in mind, Coffey predicts the 2010 budget will be frozen like last year’s.

“The state has been short, so chances are they’re going to cut us,” Coffey said.

The council could consider a cost-of-living raise for nonbargaining employees, which are city workers not represented by a union, as all pay increases were frozen last year.

Coffey said bargaining employees have longevity and cost-of-living raises built in to their contracts.

Elected officials would not be given raises, Coffey said.



ALSO ON THE AGENDA

• A stormwater rate increase will receive second and third readings Thursday, as the measure passed 5-4 Aug. 4. City property owners would pay an extra $2 a month for drainage service if the ordinance passes.

The increase could hinge on the votes of councilmen Jeff Gahan and Jack Messer. They voted yes to the raise on first reading, but said they wanted a detailed plan of how the additional fees would ease flooding woes before voting in favor on second and third readings.

Proponents of the raise say it will provide the funding needed for infrastructure improvements. England supports the ordinance, and said either an increase in sewer rates or a user fee charge for wastewater service could also be coming to the council for a vote.

A sewer rate increase proposal would have to come from the sewer board, England noted. He said he doesn’t know what the board could suggest.

• The council will take a final vote on a Planned-Unit Development District proposal by Sprigler Builders, which is seeking to construct 68 multifamily apartments along Coes Lane.

The developers will add a retention pond to help with drainage problems, which was a sticking point for some members of the council when the measure was tabled after only one reading.

The council approved the development request on second reading Aug. 4.



SO YOU KNOW

• The New Albany City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the third-floor Assembly Room of the City-County Building.