Gentry approves trash rate increase

Council approves backhoe purchase, chooses new collection agency to collect on delinquent water bills

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

GENTRY - In a brief meeting on March 4, city council members approved a trash rate increase, appointed a collection agency to collect delinquent utility bills, approved the purchase of a new backhoe by the water department, voted to waive garage sale permit requirements for sales during the Gentry Chamber of Commerce "Pickin' Time on 59" events, and adopted an ordinance allocating court costs and fines collected for the city.

Council members approved a 3 percent rate increase for trash service through Allied Waste Services. The city's contract with the trash collection company allows the company to modify its rates to cover costs by the lower of 3 percent or the annual rise in the Consumer Price Index.

According to a letter sent to the city from Allied, the CPI for water, sewer, and trash collection increased by 5.4 percent over the past year, allowing the company to request the 3 percent increase.

The council passed the ordinance on three readings with a single vote and adopted an emergency clause, so that the higher rates may be collected in the next billing cycle.

The residential customer using the roll-cart supplied by Allied Waste Management will see an increase of just over 30 cents per month, with monthly rates set at $10.81. Other non-rollcart and non-residential rates will also increase by 3 percent.

Bill Collections

Because the bill collectionservice used by the city is no longer in business, the council approved entering into an agreement with Central Financial Services of Lowell to collect unpaid utility bills for the city. The fee for collection services is 50 percent on money collected.

The city currently has approximately $43,000 in unpaid utility bills on the books, according to information Mayor Kevin Johnston provided to the council when it met in a committee session on Feb. 26. While not all is collectible, city officials viewed it to be beneficial to collect as much as possible from the unpaid utility bills rather than allowing the five-year limitation on collecting the debts to expire.

Backhoe Purchase

Also approved was the purchase of a new Caterpillar Model 420F backhoe loader for the city's water department. The city currently has one backhoe, operated under the street department budget, which the street and alley and water andsewer departments share. Because of the ongoing work projects - often in different parts of the city and water service area, the council approved the purchase to prevent downtime and increase the efficiency of the departments so that work doesn't have to come to a standstill if the city's backhoe has to be called off one job to be used on another.

Prices were received on three machines, with the Caterpillar bid price selected as the best option because of the wide stance and interchangeability ofparts and accessories with the city's current Caterpillar machine.

The pre-tax price which is a part of a state bid package is $80,866.

Other Business

The council approved resolutions authorizing the destruction of old water department records - something required by law when old records are disposed of by shredding or recycling.

Also approved on three readings and with an emergency clause was an ordinance which allocates fines and court costs collected in cases initiated by the city through the Benton County West Court. The reason for theordinance is to prevent the state legislature from allocating them for other purposes outside the city and local court.

According to Jay Williams, the city's attorney, other cities are passing similar ordinances because of pending state legislation which would allocate those funds for other purposes if cities have not already allocated them. Williams said the legislature may require fines and court costs to have been allocated by cities prior to July 2012 in order to be exempt from state allocation, in which case, Gentry's ordinance would be too late to be of help.

Added to the council agenda and adopted wasa resolution to exempt Chamber of Commercesponsored "Pickin' Time on 59" garage sales from city permit requirements and fees for those who choose to participate in the spring and fall events by holding a yard or garage sale. The next event is being planned for the weekend of May 2 through 5 in Gentry, Decatur and possibly in Siloam Springs.

As required by law, Mayor Johnston also gave his state of the city address to the council. Johnston spoke of the cooperation and hard work of community members and of the improvements being made in Gentry as a result of the community efforts of the people of Gentry.

News, Pages 1 on 03/13/2013