Some revenue enhancement ideas are headed to the full Danville City Council for consideration but not all aldermen favor them. The Public Works Committee of the city council last night agreed to forward measures to the full council that would:
- Establish a $300 fee for large set-outs of solid waste…such as the large stacks of items sometimes left by city curbs; (Committee members had discussed raising it to $500 as a way to punish those who leave large piles by the curb without first scheduling a pick-up, but decided to raise it to $300.);
- Establish a fee of $200 for each video gaming terminal. (This one is headed to the full council even though only 3 of the 6 committee members present voted ‘yes’. Alderman Rick Strebing was absent and committee chairman Mike Puhr abstained.)
- And the final proposal would raise the hotel-motel tax from 6 to 8 percent.
But the committee delayed until March 26th a vote on Mayor Rickey Williams’ proposal to establish a $50 a year fee for businesses to register with the city. Those that already pay a license or fee to the city and non-profits would not be required to pay it. ‘’This one literally scares me,’’ said Alderman Jon Cooper. He added he would rather pay the businesses fifty bucks for doing business here instead of taking more money from them. And Cooper recommended delaying action on all of the items until later this month so there could be more time for input….
And Alderman Steve Nichols noted Bloomington passed a similar licensing fee for businesses – then suspended it.
Alderman Lloyd Randle noted having city crews clean-up piles of junk left by the curb is costly…
Alderman Jon Cooper noted that approximately 70-percent of those large set-outs occur at properties owned by landlords. Cooper says it upsets him that other Danville residents are being required to pay for it. ‘’They’re using taxpayer dollars to benefit themselves,’’ said Cooper. But some landlords at the meeting said they cooperate with the city and try to make sure the messes are cleaned up quickly. Cooper also suggested that the votes on the fees be delayed to allow more time to study them….
Alderman Steve Nichols opposes raising the large set-out fee from $75 to $300 for Danville residents…
The full city council will consider the higher fees when it meets next week, but aldermen could come up with some different ideas at a Saturday study session scheduled for March 23rd.