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Council waives $106,879 pilot payment requested by Housing Authority
Summary
The Newman City Council voted to waive a $106,879 pilot payment requested by the Housing Authority, citing the authority’s rising costs for trash collection and utilities and staff assurances that waiving the 2025 payment would not harm the city’s year‑end fund balance.
The Newman City Council approved a request from Sandra Stroer, president and CEO of the Housing Authority of Newman, to waive the 2025 pilot payment of $106,879.
Stroer said the Housing Authority’s revenue and operating costs had changed in recent years: performance improvements allowed the authority to join a ‘‘moving to work’’ program and rental revenues increased, yet trash and utility costs also rose substantially — trash costs increased from roughly $80,000 to nearly $200,000 for the authority’s portfolio. Stroer said the pilot payment had grown from the $40,000 range to roughly $106,879 under the formula in the 1962 pilot agreement.
Finance staff said the waiver for the 2025 payment would not materially affect the city’s 2025 year‑end fund balance and that the pilot agreement, formed in 1962, may merit review given current conditions. Council members asked detailed questions about sanitation billing (bulk pickup, back‑door service for disabled residents, and whether consolidated pickup could reduce bills). Stroer said the authority would explore options for reducing trash costs but that streets and property configurations limit simple consolidation.
A council member moved to waive the $106,879 pilot payment for 2025; the motion was seconded and carried.
What’s next: Council instructed staff and the Housing Authority to explore longer‑term options, including reviewing the pilot agreement’s terms and whether changes to municipal policy or sanitation contracts could reduce future charges.
