Beginning Nov. 1, Dorchester residents will face a 12.5% increase in village sewer rates and a 7% hike in electric rates. The rate increases are the result of decisions made at last month's Dorchester Village Board meeting.
According to the board's Sept. 2 meeting minutes -- which were not published until Oct. 15 -- board members Slepicka, Pracheil, Axline and Schmale all voted in favor of the rate increases. Board member Cerny was absent.
With the unanimous decision, Dorchester's sewer rates will be raised from $16 to $18, while electricity rates will increase 7% -- a much lower rate of increase compared to the electricity rate hikes facing residents of many other Nebraska cities, including Omaha (15%) and Lincoln (12%).
In other actions taken by the village board at its September meeting, members unanimously voted to provide $8,000 for supplies and a Jaws-of-Life device for the DVFD. Another $7,000 from KENO funds was approved for the Nerud Field improvement project.
In addition to large bills for electric service and sheriff patrol costs, major monthly expenses approved by the board included more than $6,300 for city employee wages; $8,000 for Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance benefits; and $3,702 for services provide by Micek & Crouch Professional Services. The board unanimously approved a motion to exceed the village budget limit by 1%.
Following a closed session to "discuss personnel issues," board members unanimously voted to appoint Jessica Tuttle as village clerk and Linda Roberts as deputy clerk.
Lets put off the sewer project like we have the streets so it will cost 4 or 5 times the price later.
ReplyDeleteJust curious why at this time do we publish the village board minutes ?
ReplyDeleteIf these are published, maybe we should see how the school board is spending their money and the county board as well. Each of these probably spend more money in a month than the village board.
Lets start looking into how the school, county and state are run. I gaurantee that there is so much more waste out there that the public needs to be aware of.
Have a good day
Yikes! I wonder if other Saline County towns will follow suit?
ReplyDeleteThere is really nothing to do but to raise things. Its part of life, will get use to it, just like we did with the gas prices. Just be patience, things will get better.
ReplyDeletein response to the taxed too much comments, i'd argue this is kind of a big deal. my question is why were the minutes published almost 45 days after the vote to raise fees? i agree the amounts won't break most people but we should still know about it. i'm guessing most other towns in the county and region have done this but the people have no way of knowing until they get their bills.
ReplyDeleteTo "Taxed too much"-- The school board minutes are published in the Crete News each month. I believe a list of the bills paid is enclosed also.
ReplyDeleteWhen village positions become available, why aren't they posted?
ReplyDeleteIf Linda wants to step down, then her position should be advertised, and a search for the best possible candidate should be conducted.
I understand the need to bump up the sewer and electricity fees. Dorchester is at the whim of the national and the global economy. I guess I don't understand why we can't use some of those keno fees or perhaps raising the town sales tax to start saving for a paving project? Local tax revenue along with a fundraising effort could start filling the coffer to match a dept. of roads grant one day. We need a Vision 2015 group like they have up there in Lincoln to get these ideas into action.
ReplyDeleteThere is not enough money in the city coffers to pay me to take Linda's job--Jessica, you can have it, and God love ya--good luck.
ReplyDeleteThe way every city employee gets trashed on this blog, there is no way I'd want that job.
The Times says, "No personal attacks" --- my @#$ There are only 3 1/2 people employed by the city so when "we at the times" (you don't know how much I hate that by the way) let negative comments about the city employees be posted, it IS a personal attack--no matter what you say.
Again, good luck, Jessica. You're gonna need it.
this is a two parter......so hold on.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, my response to anonymous: All minutues, city, school and county are published in the crete news. So why does the blog tend to pick out the village board to make a big deal. Once again, and i have said this from day one...........this blog site is a way for the operators to take pot shots at the village board.
Also to the comment about raising the fees:
when the school went through house taxes soared a lot more than 2 dollars a month. On but it will be ok, we have a new school. B.S.
Everyone is worrying about raising the sewer and elec fees. Come on, what do you expect?
Have a good day
'Taxed Too Much'
ReplyDeleteWe felt that a vote to raise both electricity and sewer rates was newsworthy, as was Jessica Tuttle's promotion.
We are also concerned about the lag time between the meeting and the release of the minutes.
These are the two primary reasons for our story.
You have a good day, as well.
The lag time between the meeting and the release has been like that for as long as I can remember. The reason is that there is a state statute that says that village minutes can't be publicized until they are approved.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat for clarifing publishing differences for the village minutes versus the school minutes. Maybe that will settle some feathers.
ReplyDeleteThe school board records are publised the week after the boad meeting and may also be viewed at school any time----we have them all from way back. Anyone wanting to examing these records are welcolme to come view at them.
Is the question of the minutes whether they are available vs. published?
ReplyDeleteNE 19-1102 "...prepare and publish the official proceedings of the village or city board, council, or commission within thirty days after any meeting of the board, council, or commission."
NE 84-1413 "Minutes shall be written and available for inspection within ten working days or prior to the next convened meeting, whichever occurs earlier..."
'Anonymous':
ReplyDeleteThe issue we raised was regarding the timeliness of the published minutes.
The village board's September meeting was held Sept. 2. The minutes were published in the Oct. 15 issue of The Crete News.
If the state statute you cite is accurate, the 30-day deadline was missed by 13 days.
Now I'm not sure about the state statue, but it is the board policy to publish after the minutes are approved. If anyone is concerned about the lag time, they should contact the city office or board members to raise the question to them.
ReplyDeleteI don't care what anybody says, We are very lucky to have what we do. The city employees have alot of irons on the fire. Maybe the hikes will help better the town and everybody in, It Just a thought.
ReplyDelete