Raising sewer bills discussed at Chataignier Council meeting

CHATAIGNIER -- The topic of raising sewer bills and sewer deposits sparked a discussion at Monday night’s Chataignier Village Council meeting.
Mayor Jackie Thomas informed the council and members of the public in attendance that the village would be in the upcoming months raising the costs of monthly sewer bills and sewer deposits.
“As we know everything is going up and sewer costs will be one of those things,” Thomas said. “I want the board to start thinking about what a reasonable increase would be, that way in the next few months we can introduce an ordinance, hold a public hearing and then vote on the measure.”
The current rate for sewer in the village for the 146 active accounts is roughly $13, with a deposit being $26.
This prompted discussion among the council on how much the bill should be every month, with amounts ranging from $15 to $25 and the deposit being three months of that amount.
A few members of the community that were sitting in on the meeting voiced displeasure with the hikes, citing how many local residents are on fixed incomes, and also asking if the council was collecting the pass due bills on sewer.
After twice telling the crowd that the council had been collecting on past due bills, Thomas responded, “I don’t want to increase anything but unfortunately everyone is increasing and the costs are rising. We have to increase it.”
Justin Fontenot with J. Ronald Landreneau & Associate spoke to the board about repairing and replacing the damage done to the Village Hall by last month’s historic flooding.
Fontenot told the board that “you will have to get quotes from state certified contractors” for the work, since 90 percent of the funds for the project will be paid for by FEMA. That work will include ripping out insulation, taking out three feet of paneling and replacing door jams.
Fontenot also stressed to the council to make an itemized list of items that were lost or damaged by the flood like office supplies and items in storage.
Fontenot added, “Don’t leave it up to them to determine what your stuff costs.”
During the police report, Patrolman Arthur Phillips explained the village’s need to get the electronic Warrant Now program.
“Evangeline Parish requires you to get a warrant before taking the suspect to jail,” Phillips said. “With this program, the judges will receive an electronic notification when a warrant is ready to be signed and this would help speed up the process for us.”
At Monday night’s meeting, the council approved the following:
• A raise for Village Clerk Rhonda Miller, who replaced the retired Wilbur Rozas earlier this year, from $650 per month to $900 per month.
• To have the village’s manhole covers removed and have inspections done at a cost of $25 per manhole cover.
• To have an electrician come out and inspect and repair electrical issues at the village’s police station.
• To purchase a credit card machine for the village hall to be used to process payments for residents.