Wyoming residents air tax statement concerns

There’s nothing like November tax statements arriving in the mail to liven things up at local city council meetings. A few Wyoming property owners came before the council last week, and during the public microphone portion of the meeting, let council know how they feel about the cost of government in Wyoming. Rodney Hestekin owns commercial/multi family parcels, and said his non-homesteaded property tax bill will increase 20 percent as estimated for 2013. A couple of property owners asked about their $8 “surface water management fee.” Resident Dan Babbitt also spoke against recent city employee wage adjustments that he felt were unearned and out of sync with wages in the private sector. Wyoming Mayor Eric Peterson advised the audience that the surface water charge is being paid by all residents, both former township and classic Wyoming urban dwellers.

In 2011 council amended an ordinance and spread the 10-year-old city fee over newly-annexed township parcels. Council decided township residents will get billed once per year-- in the fall-- because large lot owners with well and septic don’t receive city utility billing. Residents in the urban “old Wyoming” are billed the same, only $2 is added quarterly within their sewer and water bills. Residents of Wyoming City have paid this fee since the late 1990s. The money goes to a fund for street sweeping, culvert and ditch maintenance and other expenses having to do with run-off controls and managing surface water. Another financial question raised in public forum was street work. Wyoming is attempting to build a street fund that would alleviate the impact of assessments on specific properties whenever adjacent street work is done.

The goal is to levy and collect a half-million annually, which would become the dedicated debt service for bonding. If costs for street maintenance and improvements can be provided for citywide, it reduces costs for assessment hearings and for collecting assessments and it is a mechanism for accomplishing regular projects. Mayor Peterson said streets have an expected lifespan of 40 years. If Wyoming starts tackling its deteriorating streets now, and adequately matches the regular revenues with the projects’ payment schedules; when all the streets are done and paid off (which he said could take about 40 years) Wyoming will be ready to start all over again on the first street. “We may have years when we can’t do a project,” he explained. But, overall, borrowing for work done will not encumber the city to servicing debt at more than $500,000 annually. Hestekin argued that his properties are accessed on “county roads.” Jerry Owens, seated in the audience, responded that vehicles are driving on city streets to get to the parcels Hestekin owns and added that apartments and businesses generate even more wear and tear on streets than a single family parcel. Council later unanimously voted to authorize two feasibility studies detailing priority street rehabilitation. Engineer Mark Erichson, of WSB, said studies will look at costs and improvement needs in various areas of Wyoming. Some neighborhoods mentioned include the northeast corner of Viking Blvd and #30...the area around the “F” streets (Flintwod, Fenwick Forli, etc)... and in and around Glen Oak and Galen. The city will also need a feasibility study just for Greenway Avenue, which is a state aid route.

Erichson also noted in his council rpeort that Faxton Avenue will be completed in spring 2013, when the second layer of asphalt goes onto Fallbrook. In a personnel matter the council went against administrative recommendations. The city council did okay a pay adjustment for the accountant/bookkeeper who “was missed” when her six month probationary status was lifted, at the same time all the other staff got three percent increases, last year. Brenda Frechette’s three percent puts her at $27.04 per hour and is retroactive to January 2012, council was advised by City Administrator Craig Mattson. A more recent hiree, however, will not be getting a nearly 16 percent pay hike. Mattson said a pay equity review of the newly evaluated administrative assistant position necessitates the increase. Council did not agree and on motion by Linda Nanko-Yeager, the action was to provide only the five percent routine “Step” hike in pay, and council approved the release of Nicole Miller from her probationary status to classify her fulltime. Her wage will be $25.08 hourly with the unanimous action. Council member Joe Zerwas said it is not that she isn’t doing a good job, but to incerase her wage 15.8 percent in the first few months she’s on staff is “too much.” IN committee reports, Steve Zerwas said the paving rehab of County Road 30 between Wyoming to Stacy is being done next spring. The state is also installing cable barrier in the freeway median from the Hwy. 8 overpass at I-35-- to Harris next year.