Monday July 7, 2008
2:30PM

The city council will meet tomorrow night. There are only two items on the agenda. VDCI will report on the mosquito program for the last month. The other item is an ordinance to increase the water and sewer rates for the customers in Wynne.

The commission has held two meetings with the council invited to explain the need for an increase. There has been a good turnout of council members at both meetings. When the last meeting was held a proposal was accepted by the commission and the members of the city council that they both think will meet the needs of the utility. If the council does not adjust the rates, the bond company can impose a rate increase on the customers. The city council and the commission do not want that to happen.

The plan is to read the ordinance tomorrow night and then have a public meeting for all of the citizens of Wynne to hear an explanation of the needed rates later in the month. During the August meeting of the council the plan is to read it two more time and adopt the ordinance along with an emergency clause. The utility needs to start collecting the higher rates in October and they need a few days to adjust the program to implement the new rates.

Work has been progressing well on the ditch in ward three. The contractor has piled most of the trees in piles and the city crews are burning the piles today. When all of the trees are burned the contractor will clean out and shape the ditch.

The solid waste committee of the city council will meet tomorrow night before the city council meets. The sanitation department has to have some more money or some of the services that are now provided will have to be changed. I have been working for several days on an analysis of the situtation. I will present it to the committee tomorrow night and ask them for their suggestions. I hope that they will take some kind of action. If they do not I will be forced to make some kind of cuts that will allow the sanitation department to stay within the budget that has been adopted. The major problem areas at this time are the fuel cost and the cost of disposal of class three and class four. I do not look forward the the choices. It seems that all are bad.