sewer rates

Hello,
This post will briefly discuss the sanitary sewer rate situation that we face. I have checked and invite you to check with other local towns to see what their rates are. I know from a coworker that greenwood pays about 10-15 dollars per month which is about or just below their water usage rate.
Ours however is 3-4 times our water rate and there does not seem to be any end to these levels any time soon. The town needed sanitary sewer reconstruction a few years ago due to the increase in residential developement. This does not how ever excuse the fact that the town council is elected to oversee these types of issues and behave in a proactive manner rather than a reactive manner.
How do things continue to be ignored until they become critcal. Remember how bad 21st was before it was repaired. I complained to the council from the time my family first moved here about that road. If my opponent really had a hand in getting that work done then again I say why did it take so long and the road get so bad.
I propose looking at the bond issue and restructuring it if possible and finding other town monies to pay down the balance so that our rates can be brought back down to earth.
Now we have the storm sewer situation that they are pushing to rebuild, reconstruct and repair at another huge cost and a fee to us each month.
My opponent has been on the council for 16yrs and I say that is long enough. Take a good long look around Cumberland and decide for yourself about the condition of our town.
We need a town council that will use more competitve bidding for town contracts rather than just automatically giving the work to the same company each time.
thanks for reading
joe
next up - commercial growth

Here is my first of many posts to inform you of my opinions on the issues I feel need to be dealt with in our town. The first one is taxes.

TAXES - unfortunately we need them to pay for community services. I believe, however that the town of cumberland has over stepped a reasonable rate. I have been saying that we pay as much in taxes as e would in Carmel but we do not have the amenities that they enjoy. I arrived at this statement by calling the Hamilton county auditors office. Every conceivable business is within a couple of miles for the inhabitants of that town, but we have very little in Cumberland and a town council that has resisted new businesses wanting to open here. Take for example, Autozone. The company made all the changes that the town requested but were still turned down. We need a commercial tax base or our own property taxes will continue to rise like the 30% we had a year ago. Some may not like autozone for various reasons but we have a muffler shop with a broken concrete and dirt lot and a machine shop with disabled vehicles in their lot, so what gives.
We have before us a state government that is looking allowing local municipalites to institute either income tax or sales taxes to pay for town operations but will that mean that they will be getting rid of property tax or just a false promise to give relief that they have never followed through with (check the article in sundays indy star - section e focus 1/21/07). They have made promises before only to ignore them and go on.
Note too, that the town and our district councilman voted in favor of a 6% raise for themselves and town employees for 2007.
It also strikes me as odd that everyone is talking about changing how we are taxed and being given some relief but no ever talks about reducing spending as a way to reduce taxes. You and I run our households on a budget and know that we can not keep spending more than we bring in with out disasterous consequences. Which leads me to another topic in my list "competitive bidding for town contracts". I will share my thoughts on this subject in a subsequent post.

Here are some of the issues I see that the town of Cuberland and its citizens are facing.
1) Taxes are as high as many other large towns and villages.
2) Sewer rates that are higher than most all other surrounding areas.
3) Very little commercial growth to help build a tax base.
4) Large amounts of residential land being annexed into the town.
5) Zoning and building codes that can help reduce the number of lower value homes.
6) Road conditions.
7) Communication between the town and MVCSC school board.
8) Communication between the town and Hancock county.
9) School and commercial impact fee studies.

These are what I feel are some of the major issues we face and I will post expanded thoughts on these as we move along in this campaign.

You can contact me with other issues and concerns that you have and I will post and discuss them with you.

My number is 894-0136.

Joe's Introduction and biography

Joe Siefker for Cumberland Town council.

I moved here from Michigan in 2003 with my wife and two daughters.

My public service history includes being president of Valley BrookVillage home owners assoc for the past three years. Prior to relocating here I was on the Cooper Township Zoning Board for two years and on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the same township for four years before that. My daytime career for the past twenty years has been in cancer treatment and radiation therapy.

I enjoy living in Cumberland and in Hancock county and feel there are some issues that need attention which is why I am running for office. I will be placing new posts here often to express my concerns and bring the important issues to my fellow Cumberland residents.

You will also find links to the town here so you can see the minutes of town council meetings as well as the plan commision, storm water board and others. The town web site also has info about the future vision for Cumberland and I hope, with your help, to be a part of that future and be your representative to the town.

I will be working for you.