City
council will vote Thursday on ordinances increasing garbage bag prices and
parking meter fees.
City council held second readings of the two bills
during a work session Tuesday.
The fee increases are part of Mayor Tom
Leighton's proposal to increase revenue next year that also includes a 31
percent property tax hike and increased recycling, building and rental permit
fees and parking ticket fines.fiberconverter
However,wheelnut
trackroller
council and Leighton have
only been able to agree on 25-cent increases to city garbage bags and parking
meters. Raising the price of garbage bags will increase revenue by $80,000,
according to Leighton's 2013 budget proposal submitted in October.
The
two hikes will go into effect Jan. 1 if council approves them Thursday. If
passed, a package of five garbage bags will cost $10, and parking will cost $1
per hour.
Leighton is now trying to secure council's support of a
25-mill tax increase, five mills less than his original proposal. This would
bring in roughly $2 million in additional revenue.
Council did not
discuss next year's budget during its work session Tuesday, even though it has
less than a month to approve the new budget.
There was discussion about
creating a regionalized fire department,admin
although it was a
conversation light on details. Councilman Bill Barrett said the city should at
least explore the possibility of forming a larger fire department with
neighboring communities.opticalsplitter
"It is
seriously time that we considered - not consider but research this and move
forward," Barrett said. "We can't keep doing the things we've been doing for
years. It doesn't work, plus it's just common sense."
Councilwoman
Maureen Lavelle said she "completely agreed" with Barrett, saying a regionalized
fire department could save the city money on fire protection.
Barrett
said he is researching the issue and has discussed it with state
representatives. But he did not say if the city's neighbors,tdmoverip
like Plains or Wilkes-Barre
townships, supported a joint fire department or if its contract with the
Wilkes-Barre firefighters union would even allow for consolidation.
The
city indefinitely furloughed 11 firefighters in November, citing an estimated $2
million budget deficit it faces this year.
