Bluffton water and sewer customers should plan on a five percent utility increase reflected in their July bills.
On Monday, council passed the first reading of an ordinance to increase utility rates. According to Nancy Kindle, village fiscal officer, the general fund has helped out the water fund considerably already this year.
"The goal is for water and sewer funds to be self-sufficient and that is not happening," she said. "The general fund can not continue to fund these."
Bluffton council's Fire and Rescue meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 9, has been canceled. In its place, a 7:30 p.m. utility committee meeting has been scheduled, according to Nancy Kindle, village fiscal officer.
Note: The following column is by Greg Denecker, superintendent of Bluffton schools. The column is part of the current school newsletter. A complete copy of the newsletter is an attachment at the bottom of this article.
I want to bring everyone up-to-date on the plans to deal with a shortage of revenue from fiscal year 2011. The new state budget proposal (which will probably pass close to current projections) will perpetuate a significant decrease in revenue for our district over the next two years.
The Village of Bluffton's North Dixie Highway annexation hearing hit another snag this week. The hearing was set for 10 a.m., Thursday, April 28, in the Allen County courthouse. That hearing is now cancelled.
A letter of explanation is being sent to property owners in the proposed annexation area. That letter follows:
To the Property Owners in the Proposed Annexation Area to the Village of Bluffton
Complete agenda is available as an attachment at the bottom of this story.
Bluffton teachers agreed to freeze their base salaries for three years. The action took place at the April Bluffton school board meeting on Monday. In addition, teachers agreed to not take step increases in 2011-12.
Except for the price of gas, Village of Bluffton finances appear to be on target so far this year. That's a quick overview of the first quarter of 2011 as reported to Bluffton council by Nancy Kindle, village fiscal officer.
Kindle gave her assessment at Monday's council meeting. She said that revenue and expenses are "where we expected them to be." She continued: "The budget is holding up except for the price of gas." She indicated that if the price continued to increase this summer the village could face some tough decisions.
