Newspapers / The Pilot (Southern Pines, … / Dec. 11, 1953, edition 1 / Page 10
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r f Study Of Sewer Policy Results In Recommendation Of Service Charge Charge Amounting To 50% of Water Bill Would Cut Taxes 20% believe, as any other utility such | amounting to 50 per cant of the 1 .1 1-. • 11 T 1rt* A detailed study of sewer serv ice, out of which grew a recom mendation for a sewer service charge in Southern Pines was completed recently by a sub-com mittee of the Citizens Advisory Committee. The sub-committee was headed by William C. Dar den. Here is the complete report of the sub-committee, with the ex ception of a tabulation showing how various large and small prop erty owners, picked at random from the town’s tax books, would be affected by the sewer service charge: Findings Wie have made a study of practices of other cities; consult ed with the League of North Carolina Municipalities, Institute of Government, and Internation al City Managers Association; contacted numerous cities as to their practices; and carefully re viewed the Town’s v/^ater con sumption statistics and property taxes. The present system of charging property taxpayers for sewers is inequitable and unfair. We have found that a very few people put a tremendous den) and on the Town sewer system and pay rela tively little for this sewer service. Some'^:itizens put practically no demand on the Town sewers and some do not even receive this service; yet, they pay a high prop erty tax for others to enjoy this service. The Town sewer system is an expensive utility costing- be tween forty and forty-five thous and dollars a year to operate. We as the water utility, the electric utility or the telephone utility,^ the sewer utility should be paid for by the citizens benefitting from the utility. Those who do not receive the service should not pay. Each should pay accord ing to the demand or use he puts on the sewer. It is believed that it the Town is going to be operated on a busi ness like basis, sewer charges and not property taxes should pay the entire cost of the sewer utility. It is obvious from our study that this is one of the reasons Southern Pines has one of the highest tax rates jn North Carolina. Many other ' cities have sewer service chairges. The Town recently borrowed $10,000 to replace a sewer main that is overloaded. Borrowing is necessary for expansion and addi tions to the Town; but funds water' bills of those enjoying sewer service in Town and 100 per cent lor those out of town would produce approximately $25,000 revenue and permit a 1954 tax reduction of 20 per cent. This revenue would not put the sewer utility on a self sustaining basis but would permit an immediate tax reduction. It should be point ed out that for fifty percent of the water consumers this would be a charge of not more than $15.00 a year and for eighty-five per cent of the water consumers not more than $30.00 a year. The largest demand on the Town’s sewer system is liquid de- *hiand. Many lines are too small to carry the large flow and often overflow. The Town’s treatment plant is capable of carrying about twice its present capacity of solids but will need an addition to its liquid treating trickier filter in - y Town’s sewers more nearly on | those who use the sewers most, to move toward the ultimate ob jective of a self sustaining sewer system, to discontinue charging for sewers those who do not now have sewers and will not have theip for sometime to come and to provide a sound financial Wasis whereby the sewer system can be expanded on the basis of revenue to be derived, a sewer service charge should be instituted Jan uary 1, 1954, and the 1954 proper ty taxes reduced by the corre sponding amount of revenue de rived from the charge on sewer users. Recomiiiendalions 1. It is recommended that be- tions to the iown; out lunos near future. This will be should be set aside m a depreci-1 ^ expensive addition. Without a ation reserve or a renewal re-1 serve to replace the existing sys-u ^ be tern as it wears out or becomes spend the $10,000 PINT >3.20 too nOOF LIQUEUR SOUTHERN COMFORT CORP. ST. LOUIS 3, MISSOURI overloaded. This $10,000 bond is sue should not have been neces sary. In order to make the sewer util ity pay for itself an annual reve nue of approximately $40,000 would be necessary. This would eliminate borrowing for replacing overloaded portions of the exist ing system. Of course, this $40,000 would soon be removed, from the property tax bills of every tax payer. Property taxes could be immediately reduced the first year about forty cents, or from $2.20 to $1.80 a hundred dollars assessed valuation. Over a period of five years, property taxes on the basis of present costs and'- present services could be reduced to $1.65. The reason for this lag in the last fifteen cents of ihe re duction is that we are not now providing -for a depreciation re serve but are resorting to expen sive long term borrowing for re placements such as the recent $10,000 sewer bond issue. All this is doing is putting off an inevit able tax increase to pay a large debt on a worn out sewer sys tem. Replacements should be pro vided out of current cash depre ciation reserves or renewal re serves. We believe an immediate re duction of the property tax should be made. It would be desirable to reduce the 1954 taxes at least from $2.20 to $1.80. This can be accomplished by a sewer service charge which would produce $25,- 000 a year in revenue. The North Carolina League of Municipalities and the Institute of Government of thq, University of North Carolina recommend a sewer service charge based on water consumption. The ^majority of North Carolina cities with a sewer service charge have this ba- which was recently issued in bonds. The use of water is direct ly related to the demand and cost of the Town’s sewer system. Summary of Findings 1. The present method of high property tax for the use of sewers is very unfair and inequitable. 2. The value of a house, auto mobile or business is in no way related to the cost of the Town’s sewer system. ' 3. The use of w^ter is directly related to the use of sewers ex cept in a very few isolated cases where separate metered water will be possible. 4. To put the Town’s sewer util- ity on a self sustaining basis j would soon result in a property tax reduction of at lease fifty- five cents' on a hundred dollars assessed valuation (from S2.20 to $1.65) 5. The 1954 personal and real property tax can be reduced 20 per cent by a sewer service charge amounting to 50 per cent of each quarterly water bill of those en joying the use of the Town’s sewer system. 6. For fifty per cent of the Town’s sewer users this would amount to no more than $15.00 and for eighty-five per cent no more than $30.00. 7. To put the Town’s sewer utility on a self sustaining basis would require a sewer service charge amounting to 80 per cent of the present water bills of those enjoying sewer service. This would eliminate expensive re placement borrowing and permit a property tax rate on the basis of present costs and services of $1.65 within three to live years. Conclusions , In order, to introduce the sewer service charge idea to the citizens sis. DON’T BUY INSURANCE until you heot Americon Motorists Plon • •. You^fB smorf/ if you biiy adequate auto insurance, since the new Safety Responsibility Law is in force January 1, 1954. But you're even smarter, if you find out about the American Motorists plan of protection before you buy. look at these BIG NEW SAVINGS OPPORTUNITIES JOHN S. RUGGLES PAUL T. BARNUM. Inc. Phone 2-&151 Americon Motorists makes available new, lower rates for careful motorists whose use of their cars is less hazard ous. Find out if you qualify. American Motorists has just declared a 15 per cent dividend on liability policies expiring on and after Sep tember 1, 1953. Southern Pines, N. C. REPRESENTING Current dividend saving on com prehensive fire, theft ond collision insurance written under All-Cover policies is 20 per cent. MOTORISTS insurance COMPANY Sheridan Road at Lawrence Avenue Chicago 40 SEND FOR FREE BOOKLET Get complete information on the American Motorists plan of protection, and on the Safety Responsibility Law, in force Jan. 1, 1954. Send for your free Ques tion and Answer Booklet about the law. No obligation whatsoever . . . just fill out the coupon and mail. Or telephone us. Gentlemen; Send me the- free Question and Answer Booklet on the new Safety Responsibility Law, together with more information about how motorists are meeting the requirements of the new law with American Motorists policies. NAME ADDRESS- CITY ginning January 1, 1954, a sewer service charge based on the use of water be instituted, amounting to 50 per cent of the water biU of those having sewers, for in-t&wn users. 2. Out-of-to'wn users should have a charge of 100 per cent in order to derive a revenue amount ing to the present $25.00 a year which we recommend eliminating. 3. Only water consumers who have Town sewer service should be charged for sewer use. 4. All property taxes should be reduced 20 per cent on the 1954 tax bills. 5. The Town should set as its im mediate objective a completely self sustaining sewer utility set- ting aside anniually a reserve for renewing the existing system it becomes overloaded. 6. The Town’s sewer mains should be extended solely on the basis of sewer revenue derived. 7. If any annexations are made in the future, prospective citizens and property tax payers should net be charged anything whatso ever for sewers until-they are fur nished. This, of course, can only be done if the sewer utility is en tirely self-sustaining by a sewer charge. 8. Persons desiring tc have sep arate meters for water not going into the Town sewers and water entering the sewers should be permitted to do so' at the expense of the consumers. Readyfor the NEW LAW? You owe it to yourself to find out how the new Safety Re sponsibility Law will affect you as a motorist if you hanfe an ac cident after Jan. 1, 1954 and cannot pay for it. For CompleW details see or telephone JOHN S. RUGGLES PAUL T. BARNUM, Inc. Phone 2-5151 Southern Pines, N. 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The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 11, 1953, edition 1
10
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