Soda Springs council reviews budget items, hears 3.5% garbage-rate request and insurance concerns

The Soda Springs City Council spent a portion of its meeting reviewing budget worksheets, utility-rate resolutions and insurance-cost estimates and heard a formal request from local garbage hauler M.R.&E. for a 3.5% residential-rate increase.

Toni and Teresa Salvi, owners of M.R.&E., told the council the requested 3.5% increase is intended to offset higher parts and labor costs and to help retain employees who can earn more at local mines. Councilman Ryan Carpenter noted the change would raise the residential monthly fee from $13.26 to $13.72. The council did not vote on the rate request and said it will review the proposal as part of ongoing budget discussions.

Clerk Andrea Haderlie reviewed beginning fund balances and previous-year figures and said the city will have more definitive health-insurance rates in late July or August; council members discussed the impact of a possible 15% increase. Councilman Mitchell J. Hart asked staff to pencil a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment into the budget worksheet for modeling purposes.

Haderlie also reported that the city's EMOD (experience modification) rate is 0.73. Council members discussed maintaining a low EMOD to keep insurance premiums down and reviewed the ICRMP rate as a potential driver of future costs.

Quotations from the meeting captured the Salvis' explanation for the request: "We love our employees just like we love our customers, and we want to give them yearly raises and keep them around because we think that if we can retain them, it's better for us and better for everybody," and a description of equipment-cost pressure: "that's absolutely killing me," said one owner when describing the rising cost of an engine rebuild that previously cost about $2,500 and was now estimated to cost substantially more.

Next steps: council will continue to review the garbage-rate request and finalize insurance and levy numbers when more precise figures are available.