Some fees increasing under new budget

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Public Hearing held Monday
By Stan Welch- The West Pelzer Town Council held a public hearing Monday night on the proposed 2012-2013 budget and no one came.

After a brief discussion, the Council adjourned. A final vote on the budget will be taken at the regular August meeting. The Council inadvertently failed to hold a public hearing on the budget before giving it second and final reading last week, but rectified that with Monday’s meeting. The August vote will be the final approval.

The new budget will reflect several fee increases. Late fees for payment of water bills will increase from five to fifteen dollars, while the reconnect fee will double to fifty dollars. The fee for a zoning change application will be a flat ten dollar fee.

Deposits to have water turned on will also increase. For a property owner, the fee will be $100. For a renter opening a new account, the deposit will be $200, unless the landlord signs a form agreeing to be responsible for the bill. Then the deposit will be $150.

“We just get stuck too often with final bills and it ends up costing the town money. So we need to increase these deposits to avoid that,” said Mayor Peggy Paxton.

The budget as proposed will require no increase in millage and will bring in projected revenues of approximately $922,000 with projected expenses of just under $800,000.