Prospect council votes to create ordinances raising residential garbage and sewer rates after $100,000 General Fund loan

The Prospect Village Council on Nov. 3 voted to create ordinances that would raise residential garbage (Solid Waste Fund, Fund 5601) and sewer (Waste Water Treatment Fund, Fund 5201) rates by $8 per customer per month for two years. The motions to draft the ordinances passed on 4–1 votes after council members discussed fund deficits and prior borrowing from the village General Fund.

Councilmember Rob Ramey moved to create the Solid Waste Fund ordinance; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Phillip “P.J.” Reeb and passed with four Yeas and one Nay. Ramey made the second, identical motion for the Waste Water Treatment Fund; that motion likewise passed 4–1. The meeting opened at 7 p.m. and was adjourned at 7:32 p.m.

Mayor Sandee Lauer said the two funds receive no tax support and are financed exclusively by customer fees, and that the council had borrowed $100,000 from the General Fund on Oct. 20 — $50,000 each for garbage and sewer — to cover shortfalls. “We do not have the money to cover these two funds for the rest of the 2025 year and upcoming years at the current rates,” Mayor Lauer said, adding that the village auditor recommended that the General Fund be used only in emergencies and that the council should avoid future borrowing. She said repayment of the $100,000 will be addressed at the Nov. 17 regular meeting.

Utilities Committee Chairman Councilmember Phillip “P.J.” Reeb said the committee met Oct. 27 to decide how to recoup the borrowed funds and reduce future debt. Reeb reported the committee’s recommendation to add about $8 per residential customer per month for two years to each fund. He provided committee figures saying the Solid Waste Fund carried a deficit of $25,479 and the Waste Water Treatment Fund a deficit of $128,898; Reeb said those deficits could be eliminated with different per-customer schedules (he cited $3 per month to clear the Solid Waste Fund in 2026 and $20 per month to clear the Waste Water Fund in 2027).

Council members also compared local private-hauler rates and noted that vendor prices often do not include village-provided services. Councilmember Rob Ramey and others cited Sam’s Sanitation at about $20–$24 per month for a seven-bag weekly service and Rumpke at about $48 per month; councilmembers emphasized that the village’s brush pickup, contracted leaf pickup and an annual spring bulk-item pickup are provided separately and are not reflected in those private rates.

Councilmember Larry Brown recommended making review of Trash and Sewer Fund expenses and rates a regular item on council agendas; Chairman Reeb suggested monthly or quarterly reviews to explain specific debts and credits. Councilmember Ed Spurlock said he found the monthly expense sheets difficult to follow and questioned how the deficits went unnoticed for roughly 10 months. The council did not adopt final rate ordinances on Nov. 3; it approved drafting the ordinances, with repayment and ordinance details to be addressed at subsequent meetings.

The council is scheduled to consider repayment of the General Fund loan at its regular meeting on Nov. 17; the drafted ordinances will follow the village’s normal ordinance process before any new rates take effect.