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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Only a portion of that money from the water and sewer fund was for tap in fees, the rest was a partial payment for new water and sewer lines.
City of Flint using water, sewer money for Smith Village work may violate ordinance
Published: Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 11:00 AM Updated: Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 11:21 AM
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan — The decision by Flint officials to spend city water and sewer funds on connection work for the Smith Village housing development project likely violates a city ordinance, officials said.
The Flint City Council is reconsidering its vote last month to dip in to the cash-strapped water and sewer funds to spend $767,000 for water main work and tap-in fees for the first wave of houses to be built.
Councilman Dale Weighill said he since learned of a city ordinance that says water and sewer hook-ups "shall be the responsibility of the property owner" and cannot be paid for with water and sewer system funds.
"Because of this, and a concern of depleting the water and sewer fund, I make a motion for reconsideration," he said at Monday night's council meeting.
Now, city leaders will have to figure out how to pay for the tap-in fees, since City Administrator Gregory Eason said the city doesn't have enough grant funding to cover all the costs
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The city earmarked nearly $16 million in federal grant money for the project.
"We need to sit down and figure out how those costs will be passed on," Councilman Scott Kincaid said. "This won't stop the project. It shouldn't delay the project at all. We just need to work through those details."
The council is expected to discuss the matter at its Oct. 19 meeting. |
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Tue Oct 11, 2011 4:40 pm |
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00SL2
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| Eason and other city officials should consider the consequences and costs of grants before they apply for them so they don't get themselves in over their heads. With city income reducing all the time how can they in their right minds obligate the city to come up with any kind of matching or extra funds at a later date to fulfill the obligations of the grant? Example: grant for police for 3 years obligates the city to pay for those officers the 4th year. That's only one example of probably many. |
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Tue Oct 11, 2011 5:15 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| I believe the fire grant has the same provision. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Tue Oct 11, 2011 5:31 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Split Flint City Council votes against water, sewer funding for Smith Village work
Published: Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 1:15 PM Updated: Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 1:15 PM
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan — The city won’t dip into its cash-strapped water and sewer funds after all for the Smith Village housing development — at least not immediately.
A split Flint City Council on Monday voted to overturn its earlier decision to spend $767,000 for water main work on the first phase of the project that is planned to bring 83 homes, most of them for low-to moderate-income families.
Some council members said they worry that spending water and sewer funds could eventually lead to another water and sewer rate increase — an unpopular notion following a recent 35 percent rate hike.
Finance Director Michael Townsend told council members that any expense “has an influence on future rates, potentially.”
“Water rates are a huge issue in the city right now,” Councilman Dale Weighill said. “Our attitude on council should be ‘do no harm’ when it comes to water rates.”
City Administrator Gregory Eason tried to persuade council members to vote in favor of the Smith Village work, saying that water rates and the project are not related.
The recent rate increase was because of the city’s aging infrastructure, and because prior administrations didn’t raise local rates even after Detroit, which sells water to Flint, raised its prices, he said.
“If Smith Village did not exist, we would still have water rate increases,” Eason said, adding that rumors that the water rate increases were caused by Smith Village are false. “That’s a misrepresentation of the truth. That’s not the truth.”
Councilman Scott Kincaid said he supports spending the funds because they would be used to replace major sewer lines in the public right-of-way, not for sewer connection fees as previously thought.
“If a neighborhood needs new infrastructure... that’s what the intent of this water and sewer fund was,” Kincaid said. “It could be done on Circle Drive, it could be done on Pierson Road, it could be done on Court Street.”
Councilman Bernard Lawler, who represents the Smith Village area, said the city is obligated to finish the project after previous administrations started it nearly 15 years ago but didn’t follow through.
Lawler said the project will help rebuild the city.
“This is a chance of a lifetime I think we have,” he said. “We started it and we have to finish it.”
Still, the council voted 5-4 not to spend the funds, with Weighill joined by council members Joshua Freeman, Delrico Loyd, Sheldon Neeley and Michael Sarginson in the majority.
But Eason said a delay on this portion of the Smith Village project could put the first phase of the development in jeopardy.
The city is under the gun by the federal government to have 25 houses built by the end of the year, or risk having to pay a penalty.
“Why can’t we succeed in doing this? Why now would we want to waffle?” Eason said. “If we don’t get these 25 homes built there’s going to be a lot more money sent back to the federal government.”
Loyd said he wants to look for alternative funding sources, but would be willing to reconsider using water and sewer funds if another source isn’t found within a few weeks.
“I haven’t seen that this is our only option,” Loyd said. “It’s not about waffling. It’s not a conspiracy here.”
tdimhcs October 26, 2011 at 2:03PM
Lawler said the project will help rebuild the city.
“This is a chance of a lifetime I think we have,” he said. “We started it and we have to finish it.”
You are calling this a chance of a lifetime! Give us a break. A chance of a lifetime would be a company bringing hundreds of jobs to Flint. It is not manufactured/trailer homes being put in a area known for high crime. How is building several homes, which are not needed, going to rebuild the city?
Are there not enough abandoned homes that could be fixed for those to live in? What a waist of money. Something in this Smith Village plan smells.......... and smells bad!!
ic23b October 26, 2011 at 3:25PM
One reason why Flint is one of the leading Cities in the Nation for wasting Federal dollars.
largehat October 26, 2011 at 6:17PM
What's interesting in no one mentioned this manuever violates city ordinances. How can you raise water and sewer rates by 25% and then another 38% in the same year because there cash strapped and then cough up $776,000 out of them? Either the increases were needed because the funds are cash strapped or there not cash strapped and the increases were for something entirely different? Either way its all illegal.....You be the judge.
mccguy66 October 26, 2011 at 7:07PM
People in Flint must enjoy this kinda thing because they keep voting these fools in and they continue to live in the city. Dumb Dumb Dumb, maybe they have lead paint poisoning? |
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Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:47 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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FLINT, MI (WNEM) -
Looking at Smith Village it appears that everything is moving smoothly.
A few homes are in place, and the project is slated to meet the Dec. 31 deadline of 25 homes, but just as the project is about to cross the finish line, there's yet another roadblock.
A shortage in federal dollars means there isn't enough money to pay for sewer and water hookups to the homes.
"I think the mindset was to pay for it with federal funds," said Flint City Councilman Sheldon Neeley. "Now we are trying to find a way to move the project along."
The developers were hoping to get some help from the city, asking city council to pull nearly $767,000 from the cash-strapped water and sewer funds, but the council rejected it.
Councilman Neeley says granting the request would've depleted the fund. If the project goes forward they must find another answer.
"Any village or community must have plumbing or water," says Neeley.
City Administrator Gregory Eason told us he will not give us a comment on city council voting down giving money to the Smith Village Project.
Mayor Walling later gave us this statement: "Smith Village is a major development and I plan to work with city council to finish the project."
Neeley says he's still optimistic that both sides will come up with a plan to get the project done.
"We are going to make sure that the timeline is not at jeopardy, we will look for additional funding."
Copyright WNEM 2011. All rights reserved. |
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Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:57 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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In the contract with Smith Village construction, the developer is not responsible for any of the infrastructure costs. Money was allocated for permits etc.
The needs of the residents are great and now it appears that the administration has decided to sacrifice much of the available resources for the next two years to build Smith Village. This money was originally to be used for the stabilization of neighborhhods by reducing the number of homes vacated by foreclosures.
From the Flint Journal editorial: HUD will forgive repayment of money given to University Park and Smith Village projects years ago if the city indeed builds all 83 homes, making the project a priority in the city “for the commitment of available city resources.”
“Available resources” in Flint is a term that may undergo metamorphosis soon as the city undergoes the second stage of state emergency financial assessment. The city is broke. |
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Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:10 pm |
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edwardcolins
F L I N T O I D
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Thu May 17, 2018 6:01 am |
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