Tuesday's special meeting of the Monroe City Council revealed short-term and long-term steps that might suggest city leaders were serious when they promised to address concerns about assessments for street reconstruction projects.
The immediate worry is about bills that property owners along two blocks of 16th Avenue are set to receive in November for a street reconstruction project planned for this summer. After a public hearing on the project May 6, residents were left with the impression they'd been promised they wouldn't have to pay the bills.
On Tuesday, Mayor Ron Marsh asked committee members to use the expertise available to them to make that happen. Various committees will be discussing the issue in coming meetings.
"We don't want to wait until November," Marsh said. "As mayor I'm not going to let this thing sit around."
Talking doesn't guarantee a solution, of course, but the fact that the council committees will be tackling the issue quickly is encouraging.
Regardless of the short-term fix for 16th Avenue, a long-term solution for all city property owners is needed. The current policy of billing some for street reconstruction, and all when sidewalks are repaired or placed, is double taxation, and it's wrong. Marsh essentially admitted as much Tuesday when he said the city had to show it is not "double dipping" on taxpayers.
His solution is to create a transportation utility to fund street and sidewalk repairs. It would be a fee - an additional tax - that would have virtually all property owners in the city sharing the financial burden. Utility funds would replace special assessments to an unlucky, select group of property owners.
Marsh's proposal is a promising first step down a path the city should at least explore further.
Marsh said committees could establish a "flat fee" for all 4,500 parcels in the city, or it could prorate fees based on parcel size or use. The latter alternative, adopted for the storm water utility, initially seems more appealing.
Another element of the mayor's proposal with merit is a discount for those who already have paid mandated assessments for sidewalk and street work. If feasible, a full waiver for an extended period of time would be preferable.
Marsh cautioned that setting up the transportation utility wouldn't be easy, and it was mentioned Tuesday that other municipalities that have tried similar ideas met opposition and were unsuccessful.
A new utility may not be the ultimate solution. But it's a starting point. And a small fee shared by all is preferable to the current system.
Press forward.
The immediate worry is about bills that property owners along two blocks of 16th Avenue are set to receive in November for a street reconstruction project planned for this summer. After a public hearing on the project May 6, residents were left with the impression they'd been promised they wouldn't have to pay the bills.
On Tuesday, Mayor Ron Marsh asked committee members to use the expertise available to them to make that happen. Various committees will be discussing the issue in coming meetings.
"We don't want to wait until November," Marsh said. "As mayor I'm not going to let this thing sit around."
Talking doesn't guarantee a solution, of course, but the fact that the council committees will be tackling the issue quickly is encouraging.
Regardless of the short-term fix for 16th Avenue, a long-term solution for all city property owners is needed. The current policy of billing some for street reconstruction, and all when sidewalks are repaired or placed, is double taxation, and it's wrong. Marsh essentially admitted as much Tuesday when he said the city had to show it is not "double dipping" on taxpayers.
His solution is to create a transportation utility to fund street and sidewalk repairs. It would be a fee - an additional tax - that would have virtually all property owners in the city sharing the financial burden. Utility funds would replace special assessments to an unlucky, select group of property owners.
Marsh's proposal is a promising first step down a path the city should at least explore further.
Marsh said committees could establish a "flat fee" for all 4,500 parcels in the city, or it could prorate fees based on parcel size or use. The latter alternative, adopted for the storm water utility, initially seems more appealing.
Another element of the mayor's proposal with merit is a discount for those who already have paid mandated assessments for sidewalk and street work. If feasible, a full waiver for an extended period of time would be preferable.
Marsh cautioned that setting up the transportation utility wouldn't be easy, and it was mentioned Tuesday that other municipalities that have tried similar ideas met opposition and were unsuccessful.
A new utility may not be the ultimate solution. But it's a starting point. And a small fee shared by all is preferable to the current system.
Press forward.
