Got there about 8:40 just in time to hear Sandy Litecky inveigh against water privatization, followed by Donald Monty, who appeared to want the council to consider the effects of both an increase in the property tax and an increase in the sales tax. Next, and last was Randy Osborne, who asked the council to cut funding for festivals and events, such as the $3000 spent on fireworks for the Fourth, before funding devoted to social support systems, such as the Boys and Girls Club, where he is executive director.
There wasn't much discussion from the council after that. Both Wissmann and Fritzler came out strongly against privitization of C'dale water, while Lance Jack argued in favor of the property tax over a sales tax increase. The voting on various taxs went pretty quickly with Pohlman, Haynes, Fritzler and Wissmann voting in favor of raising the city sale stax by 1/2 percent to 8 1/4% starting July 1, with Jack and Cole against. Lance Jack was the lone vote against abating the city property tax, so porpoerty taxes will remain as they are. The votes wre unaimous in retaining the property tax levy for the city library as well as the levey for the downtown Special Service Area tax that provides some funding for Carbondale Main Street.
Before ending the meeting, the mayor spent a good chunk of time emphasizing that privatizaiton was only one of the six options he had proposed and that, because controversy has erupted over that one, the others had not been discussed before passsing the tax increase. He pointed out that the city had already cut $1.4 million from its budget and 16 full time and 23 part time positions over the past several years and was going to have to learn to do less with less. Council meeting ended about 9:10.
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