Council discusses budget, proposes tax hikes

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Water, sewage and aging city infrastructure were among items in the 2009-10 fiscal year budget discussed at Tuesday’s East Lansing City Council work session.

Council members were presented with the first section of the of the city’s 2009-10 fiscal year budget, which involved general funds.

The proposed general fund budget includes a 2.7 percent increase in water billing rates and a 5.9 percent increase in sewage rates, which would mean an approximate $28 increase in taxes to residents each year, said Todd Sneathen, director of the East Lansing Department of Public Works.

Rate increases are determined in part by consumption and cost return estimates, said Mary Haskell, the city’s finance director.

French senior Scott Dombrowski said the proposed rate increase will add to his cost of living, but isn’t too costly to bear.

“It’s never nice when rates go up, but if it’s raise the rates or a crumbling infrastructure, then raise the rates,” Dombrowski said.

But other students, such as accounting junior Rich Katko, said a raised cost of utilities in addition to other student costs might make his financial situation difficult.

“As a student who doesn’t have a tremendous amount of money to spend, and with utilities not being the highest priority to spend on, I don’t think this would go over well with students,” Katko said.

The city’s overall proposed budget is about 40 percent larger than the 2008-09 budget, but most of the proposed increase is related to City Center II items, Haskell said.

Annual budgets generally are similar in size to the previous year’s budget, Haskell said, and without factoring in the City Center II theater and parking ramp, this year’s proposed budget is similar.

“We’re pretty consistent — we do a five-year financial plan that we update every year,” Haskell said. “As it is with individuals, it’s hard for government (in this economic time).”

Green buildings

The council also discussed a resolution to adopt the city’s green building policy, which would require all buildings receiving city-approved economic development funds to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification levels.

The certification would call for buildings to follow environmentally friendly building standards that would be beneficial for the environment and human health, said Dave Smith, an environmental specialist for East Lansing.

Meeting most certification levels would cost builders between 0 and 2 percent of the total building cost, Smith said.

“Certainly, the benefits for tenants would be a better quality work environment,” Smith said. “And the long-term costs of tenants would be less.”

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