Wellsville council's second meeting of the new regime appeared to be more business like from reports in both local papers this morning. So, instead of making some snide remarks about love in the air, I'll get down to business too.
Village Administrator Jim Sarocco reported that the clean up of loose rock on 10th Street was accomplished in one day and what is left appears to be solid rock. If erosion or earth quake tremors don't cause further problems it should be safe for the time being. He also reported that 17th Street may have to be closed when they start the permanent repairing of that hole on Main. That would mean that business would be interrupted while the repairs are going on eliminating usage by the trucks. I was wondering why they couldn't use 18th Street doing that time. Although it would be an inconvenience for the residents on 18th they could temporarily ban parking on that street and the corners of Clark Avenue. That way 18th could be used as a temporary two way street and the trucks would have enough space to make the turn onto and off of Clark. Repairs shouldn't last more than a few days once started and commerce could go on uninterrupted.
Also of concern is the escalating cost of the roof repair on Village Hall. They keep finding things that have to be repaired before it's covered with the new roof. You'll have that in an old building once you take the cover off. In the long run it is more cost effective to take care of it now then have to go back later and tear up the new roof. My daddy always told me if you're going to do a job do it right the first time. There were no short cuts with that man. I know the expenditures are of major concern but it's still less expensive than building a new place from the ground up and it has to be done.
A village landlord asked council to forgive sewage bills on a couple of his units where the renters moved out leaving him with the bills. In Wellsville if a tenant moves without paying their water or sewage bills then those bills get charged to the owner. Is this a city ordinance? Other utility companies - namely gas & electric - go after the renters in this situation. Although it's sad to say there are some people that will take advantage of this system we have. They'll pay the deposit to move into a place and then move on when the shut off notices come. That puts a burden on the landlord and takes away from his disposable income they could be using to maintain the property. If this is a city ordinance I think council should look into changing it. Sticking the landlord with someone else's bill is a cop out and the village needs to go after those responsible.
In other news from the papers Janet Taggart of the Wellsville Crime Watch Committee chastised the executive branch of village officials for poor attendance at their meetings. Nothing was reported on when the meetings are held but one has to wonder if the time is mutually convenient for all concerned. Wellsville Terminals has offered to pave their portion of 18th St. Can we assume this is from Nevada to Main? It's a nice gesture from that company. Andy Beech was reappointed as Village Solicitor. It's hard to believe but Andy has been our legal man for 20 years. Did Bill Bush resign from that job that long ago?
Coming up in future meetings is consideration of assessing a tap-in fee for new sewage customers. It was news to me that we didn't have this already. At some point or other a village employee is involved with a new tap in and we can ill afford to give this service away for free. It is a commonly accepted cost of new building just about everywhere else. Also council is going to check into the excessive number of handicapped parking spaces in town. This is a touchy subject but I often get the feeling that a lot of those spots are not much more than reserved parking. I have no problem if there is a legitimate need for it and I'm not endorsing giving those with handicaps any grief. How many of those spots were for people that have moved on in one way or another? That is what is needed to be checked.
Although not mentioned in the reports of the council meeting last night I would like to say congratulations to Kim Meek on being selected as Tom Edgel's replacement at the Election Board. From what I read she is well qualified for the job and it's nice to see a Wellsville native get a break. Kim has been an assistant clerk in Village Hall the past few years. You go girl. Good luck.
ole nib
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9 comments:
I'll say one thing. If you didn't read the newspaper you wouldn't have anything to write about. We already read it.
Ole Nib wrote:
Coming up in future meetings is consideration of assessing a tap-in fee for new sewage customers. It was news to me that we didn't have this already. At some point or other a village employee is involved with a new tap in and we can ill afford to give this service away for free. It is a commonly accepted cost of new building just about everywhere else.
cynyc says: I wonder what taxes are for? If an individual has to pay for a public employee to be involved shouldn't taxes be lowered?
Get it? Public employee paid with your tax dollars.
I always thought that it was the water company that held the owners of the property responsible for the bill. I guess I was wrong and if the village erases a bill for one land-lord perhaps they should do it for all of them and go after the renter whose name the bill was in. If it is not my name on the bill how can I be forced to pay someone else's bill?
Regarding sewage bill disputes, there is a process to go through. Wellsville has a sewage board for this very purpose. Owners of properties are responsible to pay water and sewage and I believe this is law. My guess is that J. Cataldo did this and was refused. Wellsville also offers duplicate bills, for a small cost, so the landlord knows exactly what the bill is and whether their tennant is paying the bill. Maybe some landlords should be careful who they are renting to just to make a buck and fill a house. Many landlords do background checks and credit checks before renting to a tennant. This can save a lot of migraines in the long run. One poster makes a good point, you forgive one then you have to forgive all. Can you imagine how much money the village would lose if they started doing this?
I question the legality of this. If your name is on the bill, then you are responsible. Why should I have to pay someones water bill? If I can't make the mortgage payment does the renter have to pay that? I think many land-lords do background checks and they still get fooled by the content of someones character. Once a bill is in your name then YOU should be responsible for it..this is just a free pass not to pay your bill. It also makes it easier for the village to collect. I think this is a law that could and should be challenged. Perhaps the village should find a way to make the dead beats pay and quit penalizing the landlords. On another note, it would be nice if the village worried more about some of these landlords keeping their properties from looking like the city dump. Here is a unique thought..they could write some ordinances and then actually enforce them.
you hit the nail on the head Mom, you have to enforce law
What landlords SHOULD do is raise the rents enough to cover the water bill and then pay the bill themselves. How much would it be, an extra $50 or so? A lot of the rental properties are paid by HUD, anyway, and as long as the rent is within the HUD guidelines, then the landlord would get his money, the city would get its money and everyone would be happy and we wouldn't have this argument at all. Just because someone rents doesn't make them a bad person or a deadbeat, but in all walks of life, there are people who don't pay their bills on time. A landlord who makes the water bill part of his rent collection would be a landlord who wouldn't suddenly get saddled with a $300 surprise water bill.
Listen, I'm sure many landlords do exactly that, but that is not the point. Why enable people to not pay a bill that is in their name? That is what they call being a responsible citizen..but they don't even make people in Wellsville clean up their garbage so I guess their not going to make them responsible for their own water bill.
As soon as a landlord adds $50 to a rental bill to pay for the water bill, the tenant will start wasting water, letting it run for no reason, washing cars all the time, anything they can because THEY know THEY don't have to pay for it. Believe me, I know this from experience.
What ever happened to people being held accountable for their own actions?
If a tenant leaves without paying a utility bill, the utility company should have to go after THAT person, not the owner of the property. That's bull.
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