[Mpls] Re: Mpls Digest, Vol 16, Issue 34

[Corinne Becker]

>Message: 6
>from: John Harris <jbharr1 at gmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [Mpls] Stormwatergate, con't.-The Fraud and Denial


>They way i see it, the storm water fee collected was not very
>accurate when tied to how much water you used.  so for years and
>years, the high water user was footing the bill for those who used
>little water. the more i look at this, the more I see it as a change
>to make the collection of storm water runoff accurate to the actual
>runoff your property causes.

>Nick Coleman wants us to believe that the rich are getting off at the
>expense of church parking lots and the elderly living in duplexes.  I
>am not sure this is true but i do wonder why duplexes are at a higher
>rate.

>John Harris
>webber-camden, single homowner with a smaller lot who uses little
>water and whose utility bill went up nearly $8 a month.



Some may have seen my face on WCCO on Tuesday regarding this issue. I
own a homesteaded duplex that sits on a nice grassy lot. The city
estimated that I am using 5.34 ESUs. The ESU rate for duplexes is
$8.72 per ESU, more than $3 an ESU compaired to a single family home.
My monthly increase is $46.56. Now, while I am blessed with a home of
my own which includes rental space, am I to increase my renter's rent
by $558 just to cover this "cost neutral" fee? 

Now how about the 65 year old lady who is living in the duplex next to
me in which she was born? How about the 75 year old lady next to her
who has lived in her fourplex since 1974? Are they going to go out and
diagram their property like I did, spending over four hours making a
pretty diagram for the city? 

After measuring every foot of impervious surface on my property, my
most liberal measurements indicate I should only pay for 3.0 ESUs.
That is $245 per year less than the city's estimate.

Now don't even get me started on my skyrocketing property taxes!

I gladly pay my taxes and "fees" but this isn't the "cost neutral fee"
like the city claimed it would be. It wasn't properly executed and it
isn't fair because it isn't fair for everyone.

Corinne Becker
St Anthony West


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