City fee transfer arrangement questioned

The transfer of a fee imposed by the City of Sisters from water bond payoff to sewer bond payoff has raised eyebrows among citizens and city councilors.

A water bond fee of $6 has shown up on residents' utility bills since it was imposed by the city council in 1996. The bond was paid off in April, 2003. However the fee has remained on the utility bills and has been used to accelerate payments on the sewer bond debt.

Eileen Stein stated that a formal changeover in the application of the fee was delayed mostly by timing. At the time she started her position, in April 2002, an inventory of street conditions had not been updated. At that time the city was transferring money from the general fund for street repairs as needed.

By September the street inventory and fund forecasting had been completed. But reduced gas tax funds from the state had brought less money in for street repairs and it became clear that more dollars were needed for street repairs.

The council decided not to refund the water fee overpayment, then ask for it back for street maintenance. Since the water fee had been imposed for "debt service," legal opinion was that it was permissible to transfer the fee to the sewer debt.

In Stein's opinion, streets are part of the city infrastructure, just as water and sewer, so there should be a fee for street maintenance. She agreed that the delay in imposing that specific fee and the handling of the fee transfer could have created misgivings on the part of the public.

The City Council Workshop scheduled for September 30 will not focus on discontinuing the water fee, as was reported elsewhere. Rather it will work on drafting an ordinance that puts in place a street maintenance fee.

The remaining sewer bond debt will be paid from the normal sewer fees.