Laserfiche WebLink
City Council Water & Sewer Subcommittee <br />March 25, 2003 <br />Page 8 <br />because people are going to pay, but soon people are going to pay more in <br />taxes, cable cost, and more for everything else. People can only take so much <br />and they are going to start conserving more and more. Mr. Anderson stated <br />that the City Council in the last two or three years has done a very good job <br />in reviewing the budget. They spent a week or ten days the last two or three <br />years going over the budget trying to trim everything that could be cut. <br />Councilwoman Neeley wanted to know for the handout regarding vacancies, <br />if they were existing when they did the budget, or are they vacancies that <br />have occurred post- budget? Mr. Campbell said these were probably <br />post- budget because they have people go in and out all the time. He said <br />after 16 years and they have had a turn over of 150 people in his departments. <br />Ed Seidle, 1363 Pine Bluff, came forward wanting to know if the city's <br />consumption has gone down the last couple of years as far as the amount of <br />water that is being used because of the increase in the rates. Chairman Plata <br />stated that is what he keeps hearing from people. There have been all types <br />of input, but the big main user is Campbell's Soup. They are the consumer <br />that is really hurting. He said it was not because they conserve, it is because <br />after the strike, they lost business. City Manager Malone said another thing <br />is irrigation. Mr. Seidle stated that most people cannot water their yards <br />because they can't afford the rates and he suspects that if they continue to <br />raise these rates people will use less water. The idea of you trying to <br />conserve and find ways to cut cost is the way the city needs to go. <br />Mr. Campbell stated that Mr. Seidle is correct. Consumption is down and it <br />is because of Campbell's Soup, but it is also because of the weather. <br />Mr. Campbell gave the committee a handout pertaining to treated and raw <br />water used by Lamar Power Partners, Tenaska III, and Campbell's Soup. It <br />contained a graph showing their usage from 1982 through 2003. Mr. <br />Campbell said the reason this city's Water Treatment Plant was expanded <br />was because Campbell's Soup was peaking out at 12 million gallons back in <br />1991 and everyone got really excited about that and felt that the plant would <br />