Warsaw’s Common Council meet Friday afternoon for a special meeting to discuss a new sewage rate.

WARSAW — Nothing is appearing to be easy when it comes to Ordinance 2017-10-09, and the council is beginning to feel pressure of a pressed timeline with a complicated situation. Warsaw’s Common Council discussed the newly proposed ordinance to establishing new sewage rate Friday, Oct. 27. The ordinance will be presented on Nov. 6 at the regular common council meeting with — should it pass — the public hearing scheduled for Nov. 20.

Council member Mike Klondaris asks for clarification about the cut base costs and the loss revenue. He later stood against the newest proposal for Ordinance 2017-10-09.

While not everything changed, the new ordinance made a few adjustments that was asked of the council at the last ordinances’ public hearing. The main difference between the two was on the base costs. While the price stayed the same of $3.79 per thousand gallons, multi residential buildings would pay the base costs once per bill rather than per dwelling unit. A single family dwelling would experience a 20 percent increase while a four unit building would experience an 11.2 percent increase. “We’re trying to do what’s best,” said council member Jeff Grose. “What we can possibly do that’s fair for all stakeholders, current reality, past reality.”

However, a result of the cut in the base cost will cost the city about $100,000 in revenue every year. While Jeff Rowe of H.J. Umbaugh and Associates stated “he was comfortable that the city would be able to move forward” despite the revenue loss, he also noted that “the city would have to compensate the loss of revenue” in the future, pointing out it would have to happen prior to phase two. “We can sustain the $10 million,” stated Rowe, “but when we add the $31 million, we won’t.”

The board agreed that the flow was the right way to continue to move the process, but several members continue to be unsure of the ordinance itself. Mike Klondaris stated he thought they were “getting lost in the weed” while Diane Quance emphasized that “everybody is getting a 20 percent increase not just the homeowners, listing off commercial and industrial as well as dwelling units.

Mayor Joe Thallemar sought a consensus of where the board aligned with the ordinance. Five council members showed they were in favor of the bill while two stood against it.