The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

GARBAGE RATE INFORMATION We are hearing that there has been some confusion about the new garbage rates. Some people think that the $19.70 fee to remove a can is what it costs to have a second can dumped. This is not the case. The $19.70 fee is the fee to terminate service and have BDI physically take away the garbage can and take it back to their building in Pasco. It is not a fee to dump the can. If a customer has one or more cans, they get charged their monthly fee whether they have one can, no can, or multiple cans out. The rate is based on how many cans they physically have at their residence or business, not how many they put out to be dumped each week. We gave people 60 days from the beginning of the new contract to decide if they really wanted to have more than one can, and if they decided they'd rather not pay the extra $4.50 each month, they could have the extra cans taken away without paying the $19.70 fee. It should also be noted that if a customer keeps their extra cans for 12 consecutive months or more, and then decide they do not want the extra cans, they do not have to pay the $19.70 removal fee to have the cans taken away.

NUISANCE ORDINANCE

INFORMATION

The process for municipal code violation is as follows and starts once the city is informed of an issue by an agent of the city or notices something in passing:

The city notifies the property owner or responsibility party of the condition with a general letter specifying the violation and a time frame in which it needs to be addressed.

Should the property owner or responsibly party fail to address the item as indicated in the initial letter, only then does the city proceed with its formal abatement process, including notification by certified mail with return receipt which outlines the violation and corresponding ways and time frame (13 days from the date of the abatement notification) of abating the condition.

It is only after the time has expired and the abatement has not been satisfied that the city would actually disconnect the utility services or abate the condition by some other means. The discontinuation of utilities is used as a compliance tool, as it provides an enforceable consequence for code violators. The previous process of ticketing was unreliable and unlikely to be prosecuted at the county level, leaving the offenders to not address what was requested of them.

This is of course subject to a written appeal by the property owner within five days, which would go to the Planning Commission for a hearing and can be appealed to the city council which could then be appealed again to the court system stretching the processes out for several months.

It should be noted that the city also provides alternatives for abatement for medical hardships should they exist.

It is quite unlikely for the utilities to be disconnected, as most people address their municipal code violations right away. But if it does happen, the utility bill will continue to accrue like normal.

The idea that shutting off the utilities creates a health hazard due to the unavailability of sewer services is not quite right, as it would be no different than discontinuing utility services for unpaid accounts. The city has had this policy in place for many years, and routinely discontinues utility services for non-payment, as do most cities. The city does file liens against properties when bills are unpaid, but to simply file a lien and not disconnect utilities doesn't really accomplish anything, as the utility user wouldn't have any consequences. With a lien, the only time money can be collected is if the property owner wants to pay it off to clear the lien, or if the property is sold and the City can get the money back through the escrow process. So if someone simply had a lien filed on their property but the water was not shut off, they could actually get utility services for a continued period of time and not ever pay for them, which is, in essence, theft.

FLOOD CONTROL BOND LEVY INFORMATION This measure, if approved, would provide flood control funds to construct the Coppei Flood Control Project. This project was developed after the 1996 flood in response to the $13 million of damage incurred by residents and businesses in the City of Waitsburg. The $2 million specified in the bond measure would provide funding for the construction of flood levies, walls, grading activities and other project aspects along Coppei Creek. The levy would be based on the total property values of the City of Waitsburg and would fluctuate year to year as district values change. The City would collect $100,000 each year for 20 years, so each year, depending on the valuation of the district, the levy amount would change, but the amount collected will always stay the same. For instance, this year, the district has an assessed valuation of just over $59 million, so to collect the $100,000, it would equate to roughly $1.68 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $168 per year on a $100,000 home. Over the course of 20 years, all related project costs, including planned debt service obligations, would be paid. The city understands that this is not best time to ask our citizens to approve a new tax levy, but anyone who witnessed, lived through or helped with the flood fight during the 1996 flood can attest to the devastation a flooding event can bring upon our citizens. For those who feel they would not be impacted during a flood event, There may not be flood water around your property, but there will most likely be no potable water, sanitary sewer, electricity or even passable roads in which to travel to and from the city during a flood event. Access to basic services are expected to be unavailable for the first 72 hours during a flood event as emergency management will most likely be addressing flooding events throughout the county, not just in the City of Waitsburg. Though there is an up-front cost to our taxpayers for this levy, there is also potential for reduced flood insurance premiums within the proposed protection zones. Individual properties will be impacted differently based on locations and applicable elevations, and full impact won't be known without an amended FEMA map after project completion. A fully funded, constructed and certified levy not only provides increased protection from potential flooding, but also alters our flood maps for our location. Where a property was once in the 100-year flood zone and had to carry flood insurance has the potential to be removed completely from that zone, along with the flood insurance requirement.