The town of Signal Mountain is making preparations to take advantage of every revenue source that is available. At the June town council work session, new stormwater fees were approved on the final vote. They have been increased to provide revenue for the operation of the stormwater utility. The minimum charge will be $51.48 per year for a house with impervious areas up to 3,960 square feet or less. Over that there will be an additional charge of $.03575 per square foot. There will be no charge for undeveloped properties and areas of vegetation.
A fee review plan for all services provided by the city was also discussed. A schedule has been made for re-examining all the fees that are charged to residents along with a timeline that was laid out for discussing each of the various services such as electrical and mechanical permitting fees for buildings and codes, the library, and the judicial department among many other fees for services. Cost savings are also possible if paperless billing is used versus paper billing, said Mayor Charles Poss. That would save on the cost of paper and mailing.
In order to change the fees that are currently charged, the related ordinance must be revised. After the council discusses and reassesses each fee, an ordinance will be passed regarding it rather than waiting to pass all changes at one time. This will allow the town to begin charging the new rates sooner and increase revenue. Two or more fees will be examined at the same meeting, if possible, to speed up the process. In some cases such as the library, that board will be the one to analyze and set its own fees.
The judicial department was also addressed. Vice Mayor Elizabeth Baker lead the discussion about how to reduce court costs and increase fees. The city judge is allowed to issue fees for court costs; however, she said Signal Mountain’s judge has not been doing that. City Attorney Harry Cash said the cases heard by the judge are city issues as well as state and county issues that are not subject to Signal Mountain fees and the judge has the authority to waive fees. The vice mayor then suggested moving the court times from evenings to work-day hours, which could save paying staff overtime. These ideas will be discussed with Judge Gary Humble.
There will also be increases in WWTA wastewater billing in Signal Mountain as well as an increase in the water rates on the suggestion of Water Utility Director Matt Justice. He told the council that he has compared the rates currently being charged by the town to rates of comparable communities and found that they are low. He said that Signal Mountain’s billing agreement of $1 per account is the lowest of all comparisons. He recommended increasing that amount to $1.75 per account for both utilities to cover the water utility’s costs, now that Signal Mountain has implemented a new salary and billing structure.
The minimum service fee will also be looked at. Signal Mountain charges a minimum of $6 per month for a minimum of 1,000 gallons. This rate will be addressed, too, said Mr. Justice, to make sure it is set high enough to cover costs.
With new rates, he said, for 1,200 customers, the department would be taking in $11,000 more each year for a total of $25,000. The last rate increase was in September 2021, and he said MTAS the advisory service assisting municipalities in Tennessee, has suggested adjusting the rate annually. The two biggest expenses for the SMWU are water repurchasing and the cost of electricity to pump water up the mountain. And there will be another rate increase of five percent coming from EPB in October. He said that the increases are following the recommendations from MTAS for a four percent rate increase in 2022 and in 2023. He said that the rate increases are not for the utility to make money, but that the additional money would go right back into the utility.
Looking ahead, Mr. Justice said that two large capital projects will be needed in the future and are being planned for Signal Mountain’s water company. There is a need for a new pump station. The cost of a prefabricated pump station is estimated at $3.4 million. And the water transmission line going up the mountain is now close to 50 years old and rock slides and fires are an ever-present risk, he said. This has been partially addressed with the new interconnect agreement with Walden for a second water source. The current price to replace this line is $4 million, which will increase during the 10 years he estimates before replacing it will be needed.
The water utility will be getting two new Chevrolet trucks for the use of field employees. This has been included in the budget for the past two years, said Mr. Justice, but there has been no vehicle availability. He has rolled over the money that will be used to purchase a pair of reliable trucks that are now available, he said.
Digital management software was another purchase that was approved by the council. The data management system renewal fee will cost $19,513 and will be used by the police department.