Ordinance 405 was passed in its first reading last night at the city council
meeting. This is the ordinance amending the sewer surcharge rates that were placed on
our city residents by the State of AR for the sewer repairs. The intent was to pass the
ordinance on all three readings and use the emergency clause to immediately reduce the
sewer rates, but there were not the required number of council persons in attendance to
use the emergency clause. I have already called for a special council meeting on Monday
Aug 18th to enact the second and third reading of Ordinance 405 to reduce the sewer
surcharge. As long as six or more council persons appear at the meeting to vote then it will
pass. I will send it to the City of Fayetteville billing department for a reduction in fees as soon as it  is
passed.

The sewer rates are calculated by the state of AR, not by the city, specifically targeted
at the minimum needed to cover bonds issued for the state-mandated sewer upgrades. I
am thankful that the amount calculated in sales tax revenue passed by the public is just
enough to cover the bond payments. There is no surplus factored in by the state, and in fact
the sales tax collected will be reviewed monthly by AR state auditors to ensure the
money collected will cover the bond payments on the sewer project. If sales tax
collections drop in the future, then the state could ask for an increase in sewer
surcharge rates to cover the outstanding sewer bond payments. This is why we need
continued growth in our city of new businesses, which will help generate sales tax to
pay for aging city services.

Sewer Surcharges pdf here: