Toledo City Councilman D. Michael Collins yesterday floated the idea of doubling the city's monthly storm water assessment to drastically cut the number of years it would take to complete $44 million in improvements the city needs for storm water control.
The current $3.16 assessment is charged on Toledo water bills and generates about $8 million annually.
"After they collect that and pay down debt service from other things they already have to pay, the city is left with only $1.5 million," Mr. Collins said during a committee-of-the-whole meeting. "At that rate, it would take 35 years to complete those [$44 million in] projects and that is not reasonable."
He said doubling the assessment would allow the city to complete the same number of projects in just over six years.
David Leffler, Toledo's director of public utilities, said another option would be to issue bonds to pay for the projects, which includes ditch improvements and other measures to control flooding during heavy rain.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/NEWS16/80...
I warn Toledoans every election cycle, but largely new and renewed taxes pass.
Those doubled assessments may "complete the same number of projects in just over six years", but they will never drop after the 6-yr mark.
I don't know why I'm bothering to even speak about it, here. It's a done deal anyway.
A few weeks ago, regarding the city's plan for Southwyck Mall, Mr. Collins quoted Ecclesiastes 3:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What gain has the worker from his toil?
That sounds good doesn't it? However, I have to question Mr. Collins application of it in order to justify what he is doing as a councilperson.
Why does Mr. Collins think that this is the right time for revitalizing Southwyck while at the same time sticking it to the citizens of Toledo? Is it the fault of Toledoans as Councilman Lindsay Webb who said, "the city has ignored the problem for years and residents such as those on Crawford are paying the price."
Nobody will spend any of their discretionary money at Southwyck or anywhere else in Toledo if the city officials want to keep doubling its fees, fines, and taxes, while at the same time driving businesses and residents out.
The citizens of Toledo who keep getting flooded are not only victims of flooding, but now face the possibility of Mr. Collins' plan to have their storm fee doubled. And why doubled? How did Mr. Collins come up with this figure? Why not triple or quadruple?
Mr. Collins is worried that "bonding would put the the city in the bloody poorhouse", Well Mr. Collins, what about the bloody citizens that people like you seek to put in the poorhouse? Who do you care more about, the city or its citizens? Without citizens, there would be no city.
It's too bad that Mr. Collins failed to read the conclusion of Ecclesiastes.