Rate increase vote set for August

DUNKIRK — City council plans to take action on water and sewer rate increases and a request to vacate an alley at its first meeting in August.

The sewer and water rate proposed increases were introduced at Monday’s meeting, with city attorney Wes Schemenaur formally presenting the language to council members.

Schemenaur explained that the ordinance calls for 3% increases to the city’s water and sewer rates, as discussed at the council’s June 23 meeting. A public hearing on the increases will be held at the council’s Aug. 11 meeting, with plans to vote on it following the hearing.

The increases would push the minimum water rate to 25.54 per month from the current $24.80 and the minimum sewer rate to $17.90 per month from the current $16.87.

The only other change to the ordinance, Schemenaur said, is a proposed increase for the fee for handling waste from septic tanks. 

It would be increased to 9 cents per gallon from the current 4 cents.

The septic fee increase would go into effect immediately while the water and sewer rate increases would be effective Feb. 1.

Schemenaur also told council that it will be able to take action Aug. 11 on a request to vacate an L-shaped alley in the area of Franklin and Pearl streets.

Also presented to the council on Monday was an ordinance change to create a non-reverting fund for the city’s fire department. Funds from fire protection contracts — Dunkirk has agreements with Knox, Jackson and Richland townships in Jay County and Niles Township in Delaware County — would go into the new fund. (It currently goes into the general fund.) The city received almost $14,500 via the most recent contracts.

Schemenaur also encouraged council members to take part in any educational opportunities that may be available regarding Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 1, which addresses various tax issues.

He said he sat through about 90 minutes of a session regarding the legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly this year.

“My head hurt when it was over with,” he said.

Schemenaur said the bill will make significant changes to local government finance. In order to help understand them, he suggested attending seminars led by the Association of Indiana Municipalities and/or consulting firms.

“This is going to be a nightmare, I’m afraid,” he said.

Robbins concurred, saying he, treasurer Kara Lowe and council president Jesse Bivens have attended recent seminars as well.

“It’s pretty confusing,” he said.

In other business, council:

•Approved the following: the payment of $19,488 to Peerless Midwest to replace a well pump at the water treatment plant (Bivens noted that another pump will need to be replaced, but suggested handling one now and putting the other on hold until 2026); purchasing $7,390 in gear for volunteer firefighters from Donley Safety; payment of a claim of $5,531.40 to Safety Systems for emergency lighting for the new 2025 Dodge Durango police vehicle; a $200 sponsorship for Dunkirk Junior League; a $400 sponsorship for the upcoming 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Dunkirk City Park; payment of claims totaling $368,887.49;

•Received a reminder from Robbins that there will be a meeting regarding Head Start at 4 p.m. tonight. The meeting will include a representative from Save the Children Head Start of Northeast Indiana. The Head Start program that was previously housed at West Jay Community Center was shut down in the spring.

•Heard it received thank you cards for its sponsorships of the West Jay Optimist Club Jerry Nelson Memorial Fishing Derby and Jay County 4-H.

•Learned from Revolt that the installation of new playground equipment and related work at Dunkirk City Park is complete.

•Heard from community coordinator Darlesia Lee about the Indiana Energy Saver Program, which will assist Hoosiers in reducing energy costs through energy efficiency upgrades. The program is supported by $182 million in federal funding and will offer rebates for projects such as heating and cooling systems, water heaters, insulation, appliances and lighting. For more information, visit indianaenergysaver.com.