From the Kokomo Tribune:
Peru resident Wayne Bunker filed a petition Monday, signed by 39 residents, with Clerk Jackie Gray detailing grievances with the yearly $144 trash pickup fee passed by the city council earlier this month.
The ordinance established a monthly $12 fee that officials said will offset nearly $800,000 in projected losses in 2013 due to property tax caps. Peru Mayor Jim Walker said earlier this month that amount is almost the entire budget of the sanitation department, which currently picks up trash for free.
However, the city’s 2013 budget sets the cost of trash collection and landfill charges at $625,000.
The petition says that budget number understates revenues by $175,000, which will cause an increase in the general fund levy and cause taxpayers to pay for trash service twice — once in taxes, and once in the $12 fee.
The petition also says because the user fees are part of the city’s general fund, they may be used for any purpose within that fund, not just on trash pick-up.
Indiana code states if a resident files a petition, a council must adopt with its budget a finding concerning the objections in the petition and any testimony presented at the adoption hearing.
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http://kokomotribune.com/local/x403283149/Peru-petition-City-trash-fee-a-double-tax
