Dateline: November 6, 2003

City increases rates for water, sewer, trash

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon residents will soon be paying higher rates for city services following last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting.

Ordinance 347 was approved by a 2-1 vote and raises water rates by $2 per month, sanitation charges by $1.80 per month, and sewer rates by $5 per month.

Aldermen Tommy Hill and Bobbie Kidd voted for the fee increases. Alderman Michael Tibbets voted against the measure.

Alderman Janice Knorpp was absent, and Alderman Mark White was presiding as mayor pro-tem in place of Mayor Tex Selvidge, who was ill.

Tibbets again restated his opposition to the rate increases. He said he had been against accepting the airport grant and against hiring a city administrator and had therefore voted against the budget, which contained both of those items.

Earlier last month, other city aldermen reacted with surprise when Tibbets voted against the rate increases, in light of what they saw as his expressed support for the increases during the budget writing process.

In other city business, aldermen approved an ordinance designating as a reinvestment zone the property on which a new motel being built at US 287 and SH 70 North. The action clears the way for local governments to consider a property tax abatement for that business.

The board voted to cast all the city’s votes for the appraisal district board of directors for Alderman Tibbets. The city does not expect their candidate to be elected since the Clarendon school district and the county have the most votes. Tibbets abstained.

Former mayor Steve Smith and resident Darrell Leffew presented individual proposals for street paving. Both men want to be put in charge of the paving, using city crews and city equipment. Both say some used equipment would have to be purchased for their proposals to work, and both men want to employ the same person to run the maintainer.

The main difference between the proposals is that Smith would have the city crew build the curbs and gutters, and Leffew would like to see that portion of the work subcontracted.

The board tabled both proposals until the entire board could review the ideas.