Bend Over Wentzville, Here Comes Another NEW TAX!

C'mon Wentzville city government, you have got to to be kidding...you are really going to inflict this unpopular storm water utility fee (tax)? Admit it, it's just another tax on the property owners that they will have no say in how much it is raised in the future. I dug out a couple of interesting articles on the proposed "Storm Water Fee" (TAX) printed in 2008 by Echo Magazine. I am posting them here and have taken the opportunity to highlight in bold, some of the more important Items. The first asserts the damage to home and business owner's bank accounts if this vulgar display of excess power is adopted:

"Storm Water Run-off Fee

A handful of citizens were in attendance at a recent monthly meeting hosted by Ward 3 Aldermen Nick Guccione and John Luby at the Guccione home. Others attending this informal get-together were President of the Board of Alderman Bill Schuette of Ward 2, and City Administrator Dianna Wright.
The main topic of discussion stemmed around the controversial Storm Water Utility Fee, which was tabled until the outcome of a class-action lawsuit against the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District is determined. According to public record, the fee would be used for storm water maintenance. One citizen said, “Storm water maintenance is the same as street maintenance; it’s the cost of doing business in Wentzville and should be paid for by tax revenues, not a fee.” It was brought up that the City is minimizing the implementation of the fee because it’s only $1.10 per household, and small businesses were being burdened with the brunt of the fee; all small businesses would pay considerably more. Alderman President Schuette stated, “I’ve talked with the small businesses and they don’t mind the fee because they will just pass the cost onto their customers.” Schuette says the home owners of Wentzville will pay only $1.10 (or more) per month, but the cost of everything they buy in Wentzville will go up because businesses will be passing their share of the fee onto them—the home owners will pay for it all, and apparently that’s OK with Schuette. I’m sure Wentzville homeowners can see the flaw in his duplicitous logic.
The question was asked, “If this bill is passed, are citizens guaranteed that the $1.10 fee will not be $3.30 next month or $5.50 or more next year?” None of the Aldermen or the City Administrator could guarantee that. Such is the nature of fees; once they are implemented, if the City can show need, they can raise them at any time. As they say, once you let the camel poke its nose in the tent, it is not long before the whole camel’s in the tent. The Aldermen who support this bill are giving a blank check signed by Wentzville residents to our city government. If stormwater funds were taken from tax revenues, the cost to residents and businesses would remain constant until it is put to a vote of the people.
Alderman Luby was asked if he supports the fee, and he said “Yes.” Those Aldermen who voted to table instead of giving an up or down vote were Bill Schuette and Peggy Meyer of ward 2, and Nick Guccione and John Luby of ward 3.
At a meeting of the Wentzville Downtown Business Association, flanked by Ward 3 Aldermen Luby and Guccione, Schuette defended tabling indefinitely the Storm Water fee legislation by stating, “If we voted this down, we would be wasting the $97,000 we spent on a viability study in 2006.” He believes it’s better to inflict this unpopular fee on Wentzville residents and businesses than to admit the mistake of wasting taxpayer’s dollars by entertaining this unusual legislation in the first place. It is the opinion of this writer that Alderman Schuette is standing on a political gallows while supporting this fee. It remains to be seen which Aldermen will be standing beside him and which will be among the spectators. Call your Aldermen and tell them what you think about them giving our bucks to the city; tell them to take the money out of the city’s general fund, and not to impose a fee. Demand that your Aldermen representatives bring the storm water utility fee back on the table and give an up or down vote now. Alderman Schuette doesn’t want to give citizens a vote by taking the funds from tax revenues; the least he can do is take a stand, bring the issue back on the table, and vote for or against the welfare of his constituents and all Wentzville residents."

This next article expresses the cowardly, indifferent, cavalier arrogance of our city government to impose this TAX on our already over-burdened property owners:

"Storm Water Run-off Fee Tabled

Just before final passage, the Wentzville Board of Aldermen tabled the storm water run-off fee indefinitely. Alderman Bill Schuette, Ward 2 announced that the MSD (Metropolitan Sewer District of St. Louis) has been cited in a class-action lawsuit over the implementation of a storm water run-off fee, and rather than taking a chance on a similar lawsuit here, they decided to table the bill until the situation is resolved. The bill can be put back on the agenda for final passage at any time with a 24-hour notice.
If and when the fee is adopted, residents and businesses in Wentzville will have to dig a little deeper each month to pay for the rain. The budget would grow $300,000 because of this new and rare fee—Wentzville would be the only city in St. Charles County to inflict it on its residents and businesses. At the August 6, 2008 work session, Public Works Director Bill Bensing said, “I know of at least three other cities in St, Charles County who are closely watching the outcome of our actions.” Alderman Nick Guccione of Ward 3 remarked, “We’ll be leading the way.”
Many Wentzville residents are losing their jobs, many are facing foreclosures, and many more cannot afford to drive to work because of the high price of gasoline. We pay one of the highest sales taxes in the nation, we had a 30% to 40% increase in property assessment and are consequently paying more real estate taxes, and many of us are on fixed incomes. Small businesses are suffering with strict and costly codes at the hand of an insensitive city that imposes more and more fees and restrictions. The big businesses in town will get a 20% to 50% discount on their storm water run-off fees, leaving the citizens and small businesses to carry the brunt of the city’s windfall.
As an interesting side-note, the very evening the Aldermen had the first reading for the new fee, they voted to purchase another new 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe for $30,000. The City of Wentzville has money to keep hiring personnel, buying vehicles, and paying for the gasoline. When the storm water run-off fee is brought back, the vote results will be printed in Echo Magazine, listing the Aldermen who supported it—hopefully; this will be used as a guide for Wentzville voters to use at the next Aldermanic election. By the way, watch for the city to put on the April 2009 ballot the one-half-cent sales tax increase for storm water and parks (for the third time). Wentzville cannot afford elected officials who continually support more taxes or impose more and higher fees.
Stop the hiring, quit the spending, and
CUT THE BUDGET!"

I sincerely hope that all of you following this blog, get up on all fours and storm city hall. Pass this along to your friends, neighbors, and fellow business owners, let them know that we are sick and tired of their "money grubbing agenda." The city government needs to know; that just because the state says it's OK to implement this "fee,' it doesn't make it mandatory, necessary, or acceptable to property owners. There remains only one final vote to stick it to us, call your Aldermen!

"Stop the hiring, quit the spending, and CUT THE BUDGET!" NOW!