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City gives rotten eggs for Easter

Alpena city residents learned this week that the Municipal Council will consider raising their water and sewer rates in the weeks ahead.

Hip Hip Hooray.

Did our less-than-enthusiastic endorsement of the proposed 2.89% increase shine through the pages of the newspaper?

Our position stems from the fact that one of the major customers of city water — Alpena Township — still is locked in a price disagreement with the city, and that customer more than likely will not pay any new increase, since they still are paying the city rates that were in effect in 2011.

City Engineer Rich Sullenger justified the increase as needed to meet the expenses of the utility. However, had Alpena Township been paying its fair share all along, those needs would have come a lot closer to having been covered, and that should be irritating to all customers of the system.

City officials say the rate increase is the lowest in four years. Previous increases were 8.29% last year, 4.47% in 2017, and 5.34% in 2016.

However Alpena News columnist Greg Awtry, while not commenting on this increase, specifically, today in his column indirectly addresses the issue by reminding readers that a tax is a tax, or an increase is an increase, no matter how it is packaged and presented.

A pig wearing a dress is still a pig.

Whether 8.29% or 2.89%, it still means less money in your pockets, if approved.

A little here for water. A little there for something else.

There are so many hands on your wallet these days it is little wonder all you are left at the end of a week is some loose change.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)

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