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Ogdensburg council, manager defend reduced "home business" water-sewer fee amid calls for meters
Summary
City leaders described a yearlong review of the city's flat home-business water and sewer fee, said the charge was lowered from roughly $1,000 to $165 annually, and discussed longer-term fixes including citywide meters; no code change was adopted at the meeting.
City Manager Fonda summarized the city's work on the home-business water and sewer user fee and defended changes the council approved earlier this year, saying the fee was lowered and management is continuing enforcement and outreach.
The manager told the council that the city reduced the flat annual charge for qualifying home businesses from about $1,000 to $165 and that the rate originates in a municipal code provision from 1975. "The city currently does not have a business permit requirement for standalone businesses in the city," the manager said, and added that the city had contacted the state to confirm whether state rules would exempt home day-care providers from the fee.
Council members and residents who addressed the council urged further action. Several speakers said the flat fee felt arbitrary without metered usage data; one councilor said the city should move toward installing meters to make charges more equitable. The manager said meters would be the longer-term solution but acknowledged cost and resource constraints. He also said eight properties had already been identified as being charged the higher fee and that code enforcement is continuing to investigate available records.
The discussion distinguished past administrative steps, current direction and the lack of new formal action at this meeting: council members reiterated that any further code changes should be initiated by the council rather than by management, and the manager asked for time and direction to prioritize remaining tasks. No motion to change code language was introduced at the meeting.
Context and next steps: the manager urged continued enforcement of the existing code while exploring meter installation as a future capital project; councilors said they want clearer metrics before further rate changes are considered.
