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Water bill breaks starting to cost

Kelly Kenoyer

Sweet Home is giving residents a break on water bills during the pandemic, but the costs are starting to mount.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, the City Council adopted a new policy to provide emergency relief for utility accounts and other city fees. Since then, the city hasn’t shut off water for any residents, even if their bills are overdue.

The first month’s shut-off day passed with 117 overdue accounts, but Finance Director Brandon Neish said a donor covered those overdue bills.

Not so for May, June or July, and there are now 131 overdue accounts with an average balance of $302.27. That means the city is currently owed $39,597.37, and the costs may rise further for account holders before the stay of execution ends in September, when the state’s emergency order ends.

In a report to the council, Neish said “we are concerned that we are setting account holders up for failure by continuing aspects of the temporary policy through September 4.”

He suggested payment plans for the overdue accounts, and City Manager Raymond Towry agreed.

“At that point they’ll have gone about six months, so we’ll give them about six months,” he said. “It’s one thing to be generous and it’s another thing to set people up for something worse down the road.”

Neish’s report recommended next steps: first, a second notice for past-due account holders on red paper warning of an end to the city’s policy in the future. Then, in August, the city will perform “partial turn-offs for accounts with past-due balances incurred pre-COVID unless pre-COVID balance is paid in full.”

Finally, on Sept. 9, accounts with past due balances from Aug. 1 or earlier will be turned off regardless of time frame.

All six councilors present at the July 14 council meeting agreed to the plan. Present physically were Mayor Greg Mahler, Susan Coleman, Diane Gerson, Lisa Gourley and Dave Trask. Councilor James Goble was absent and unable to join because of technological issues, and Councilor Cortney Nash joined remotely.

The council also considered an application for a Community Development Block Grant in conjunction with the city of Lebanon to provide funding for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Santiam.

The BGCGS is currently providing emergency child care at its Sweet Home and Lebanon locations, and the grant would supplement the organization’s private donations so they can continue to provide emergency options to working parents.

City Community and Economic Development Director Blair Larsen said the grant would cost the city nothing but staff time, and they could receive up to $50,000 for the full grant between the two cities to help the Boys and Girls clubs continue providing child care.

“There’s no match from the city, so there’s no costs here,” Larsen said.

Mahler asked how the funds would be split between the two cities, and Larsen responded that the program operates at roughly the same level in both locations.

Trask and Mahler expressed concerns about fairness in distribution between Sweet Home and Lebanon, as well as concerns about accountability.

Larsen pointed to reporting requirements for the grant and said, “at the very least, we would know how many children are benefiting from the service in Sweet Home.”

The motion passed unanimously.

Afterwards, Councilor Diane Gerson expressed concern about childcare options for much younger kids. Larsen responded that the city had to rapidly find a partner who was already providing a qualifying service. The process was “First come, first serve, get your applications going as soon as possible,” he added.

In other action, council members:

– Amended a Safety Incentive Program involving $25 gift cards given city staff to change to cash bonuses through payroll as rewards for safe behavior. The amendment passed unanimously.

– Unanimously approved a Transportation and Growth Management Grant Application. The state-administered $250,000 grant may be spent to refine the city’s transportation system plan, and will focus particularly on future development of the northern part of Sweet Home between the railroad and the South Santiam River.

It requires a 12 percent staff match of at least $30,000 from wages and salaries for fiscal year 2020-21.

– Approved Sweet Home’s participation in an intergovernmental agreement intended to make it easier to use services from other governmental agencies, including Linn County and local universities. The Intergovernmental Agreement for Managing Oregon Resources Efficiently (MOREoregon.com), will allow the city to call on other agencies for road repair, snow plowing, and other services without a mark-up. The motion to join the IGA passed unanimously.

– Gave final approval to an ordinance that will allow Midway-area property owners to use water from wells. The ordinance sets up a process for property owners within the contaminated area who wish to use their well water.

The original ordinance from 1998 required well owners in the Midway Contaminated Groundwater Area to connect to city water, but the new ordinance allows property owners to petition the city for an exemption from that requirement. The ordinance passed with two no votes from Mahler and Gerson, the rest of the council voting yes, with Goble absent.

– Finance Director Neish notified the council that insurance costs on several city buildings have gone up drastically this year, by approximately $24,000. The change is largely driven by a 19 percent cost increase on certain buildings, including the old City Hall building. Gerson suggested a moment of discussion on the fate of that building, and Towry said existing plans to use the building for the library have been put on hold because of the spending freeze in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.

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