Citing the bad economy, County Administrator Deborah Feldman said she asked the county water services department to find ways to reduce costs to give rate payers relief from the planned increase.
“Many of our families are struggling during these tough economic times. We hope this decision will help ease some financial stress for our citizens,” said Montgomery County Commission President Dan Foley.
Montgomery County provides water and sewer services to all or part of 14 communities. Dayton is not one of them.
Rescinding the rate increase will cost the county $3.8 million in lost revenues for the water and sewer fund, according to Merrill.
The decision comes even as the county’s costs have increased due to rate hikes of 3.5 percent by Dayton and 47 percent by Greene County, both of which provide sewage treatment services for portions of Montgomery County.
The rate increase would have been the third in a three-year package of scheduled rate increases that began in 2008. Rates for 2011 will be evaluated at the end of the upcoming year.
ED/GE grant approved for Caterpillar
Also Tuesday, Commissioners approved a $700,000 economic development/government equity agreement with Clayton for Caterpillar Logistics Services.
Commissioners already agreed to the grant, and this vote released the money.
Caterpillar agreed to construct a $68.6 million distribution center at Commerce Park on Hoke Road in Clayton.
The company credited incentives and the site’s proximity to interstates 70 and 75 for the decision to build in Clayton.
The city of Clayton agreed to donate 163 acres of land and the state of Ohio threw in a tax break package worth $1.85 million.
Caterpillar said its distribution center — its second-largest in the U.S. — will bring 500 to 600 new jobs paying starting at $11.75 an hour plus benefits and an annual payroll of $12 million to $14 million.
County budget, including wage freeze, approved
Commissioners also approved the 2010 budget, which includes a wage freeze, across-the-board cuts, layoffs and a reduction in 171 positions. The county will spend $851.6 million next year, much of which comes from federal, state and local funds that cover restricted uses, such as the county department of job and family services.
The General Fund portion of the budget totals $141.3 million and that is the area where most cuts are occurring, due to dramatic declines in revenue from sales tax, property-related revenues and investment income.
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