Officials say state funding changes could force future sanitation fee study; no immediate plan to charge customers

District Administrator Rick Conrad told the Board of Sanitary Commissioners on June 25 that changes tied to Senate Enrolled Act 1 will reduce district funding and may force future changes to how sanitation is funded.

Conrad said the sanitation department is funded through property taxes and "we have an anticipated shortfall of about 5% this year, and that's going to increase incrementally over the remaining years." He said the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) "will have a number for us in the next couple of months" and that the district is only in the exploratory stage on billing for services. "We are considering, billing for services, but we are nowhere near having any numbers," Conrad said, adding the board would provide updates as numbers become available.

A public commenter, Rick Yenser, pressed the board to be cautious about additional charges and cited the district's debt. "...the sanitary district's chief job is to keep water clean and safe," Yenser said, and later warned, "You'll see another angry mob if you're gonna charge people a service fee on top of property taxes they're already paying." The board and staff clarified several times that there is no immediate plan to implement service fees and that any move from property tax funding to monthly billing would require further study and public discussion.

Commissioner Clark stressed the distinction between wastewater billed monthly and sanitation funded by property tax, saying the two "do not mix." Commissioner Overton repeatedly emphasized that the current discussion is exploratory and that legislative changes could be revisited next session.

Outcome: No formal action was taken; staff will await DLGF figures and provide further updates at future meetings.