I received an anonymous note recently regarding our sales tax and increases in water and sewer rates. The writer asked why water rates increased by 14 percent and sewer by 5 percent with increased revenue from sales tax.
Dear Anonymous, the City of Mt Juliet does not control water rates. The operation and funding of your water is a function of the West Wilson Utility District.
There has not been an increase in sewer charges this year. In fact, sewer rates have only increased 1 time in a decade, and that basically balanced out the sewer rate reductions made several years ago.
Finally, even if there had been increases in sales tax, state law precludes using it (sales tax)within the sewer department. By law the sewer department is run as an enterprise fund, which requires it to be self sustaining, and not use resources from anything other than the dollars generated by operation of the sewer department.
Thank you for allowing me to provide you with updated information.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Showing posts with label Sewer Billing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sewer Billing. Show all posts
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Monday, September 7, 2009
Update: 9/7/09
Good Afternoon MJ and Happy Labor Day:
Have you taken some time recently to explore the MJ City homepage? I ask because last Friday I received a very kind note from a fellow who complimented our webmaster (Mr. Travis Taylor) on the superb work he's done to organize and present community-wide information in a logical, easy to find manner. And just last week Mr. Taylor, along with his colleague, Mr. Shannon Joyner, Assistant Public Works Director, unveiled a new initiative that should be on line in the next few days. Using a new tool provided by the City Commission, we now are empowered to move Channel 3 from a power-point to a video-based medium through the use of a video "scheduler". What this means is we now have the capabilities to show public "infomercials" any time of the night or day on Channel 3. Harnessing that capability, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner collaborated to bring the MJ community a bi-weekly video update on the status of the North Mt. Juliet Road (NMJR) widening project. Right now the leadership of TDOT as well as reps from West Wilson Utilities District (WWUD), the MJ Sewer Department, Middle Tennessee Electric, TDS and COMCAST have biweekly meetings to review issues, challenges and the next steps associated with this project. What we will be doing is bringing you "real time" project updates straight from those directly involved. We believe this will be of tremendous use to our citizens and commuters as the NMJR project picks up steam over the next few months. The plans are to bring this initiative to both your TV and your computer by the end of next week. Tune in Channel 3 or to check out the MJ homepage for the latest info. Thanks Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner for some real "out of the box" thinking!
Speaking of road work, here's the latest: blasting has started by WWUD on the west side of NJMR, while there's been aggressive action to clear the trees north of the library. On the Reverse L, work continues to progress well, with the contractor planning to grade out 5 lanes as opposed to the originally planned 3. We are still on track for mid December "drivability" with the Reverse L and final acceptance scheduled for early Spring of 2010. Finally, we are very pleased with the build-out plans for the Paddocks area and the recently installed cul-de-sac on what was once Pleasant Grove Road. Very few problems or complaints have been reported to the TDOT contractors.
You should soon see a public notice in both the MJ News and Chronicle about the sewer billing average season starting to wind down at the end of the month. You'll also be receiving the notice on your next monthly sewer bill. I'd encourage you to take a few minutes to read and familiarize yourself with the process . . . it could save you money and frustration. For more info contact Mr. Wayne Griffin at 754-2554.
Has it been a while since you've been inside your City Hall? Take a few minutes and drop by and see what the combined efforts of the skilled crews from your Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments did to transform City Hall and the city's new combined Sewer and Finance Building at the corner of E.Caldwell and NMJR. Mt. Juliet is blessed to have some of the most dedicated and professional workmen on duty just for you. And speaking of professionalism, Chief Garrett tells me that calls for service to the Police Department have gone up by more than 50% in the same reporting period between CY08 and this year, while reportable crimes have declined. This just demonstrates the superb job your MJPD is doing to be responsive to our community.
Finally, make plans now to join us for the 09 iteration of Mt. Juliet's Halloween in the Park. Halloween in the Park is the largest event hosted by the city's Parks and Rec crew. It will be on Saturday, 10 October, at Charlie Daniels Park. We plan on the new Rec Center Expansion facility being up and operational by then, so the Parks and Rec crew have several new ideas to add to the mix. If Halloween isn't your thing, then just come by and see how the Charlie Daniels Park has been totally transformed in the last year. A new exercise "Para-course", a new skate park, expanded volleyball courts, and the new Rec Center expansion are all for you. And on that note, a final comment; if you haven't been to South Mt. Juliet Park to see the County's first and only Bark Park, you owe it to your furry companion to take a look. In addition to the Bark Park, which now has a fresh water source for your K-9, within the next couple weeks we plan to have a new children's playground up and operational. We want to thank the citizens of the Belinda City area for your support in making the playground, Bark Park and other new programming opportunities at South MJ Park a reality.
Take care MJ and talk with you later.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Have you taken some time recently to explore the MJ City homepage? I ask because last Friday I received a very kind note from a fellow who complimented our webmaster (Mr. Travis Taylor) on the superb work he's done to organize and present community-wide information in a logical, easy to find manner. And just last week Mr. Taylor, along with his colleague, Mr. Shannon Joyner, Assistant Public Works Director, unveiled a new initiative that should be on line in the next few days. Using a new tool provided by the City Commission, we now are empowered to move Channel 3 from a power-point to a video-based medium through the use of a video "scheduler". What this means is we now have the capabilities to show public "infomercials" any time of the night or day on Channel 3. Harnessing that capability, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner collaborated to bring the MJ community a bi-weekly video update on the status of the North Mt. Juliet Road (NMJR) widening project. Right now the leadership of TDOT as well as reps from West Wilson Utilities District (WWUD), the MJ Sewer Department, Middle Tennessee Electric, TDS and COMCAST have biweekly meetings to review issues, challenges and the next steps associated with this project. What we will be doing is bringing you "real time" project updates straight from those directly involved. We believe this will be of tremendous use to our citizens and commuters as the NMJR project picks up steam over the next few months. The plans are to bring this initiative to both your TV and your computer by the end of next week. Tune in Channel 3 or to check out the MJ homepage for the latest info. Thanks Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner for some real "out of the box" thinking!
Speaking of road work, here's the latest: blasting has started by WWUD on the west side of NJMR, while there's been aggressive action to clear the trees north of the library. On the Reverse L, work continues to progress well, with the contractor planning to grade out 5 lanes as opposed to the originally planned 3. We are still on track for mid December "drivability" with the Reverse L and final acceptance scheduled for early Spring of 2010. Finally, we are very pleased with the build-out plans for the Paddocks area and the recently installed cul-de-sac on what was once Pleasant Grove Road. Very few problems or complaints have been reported to the TDOT contractors.
You should soon see a public notice in both the MJ News and Chronicle about the sewer billing average season starting to wind down at the end of the month. You'll also be receiving the notice on your next monthly sewer bill. I'd encourage you to take a few minutes to read and familiarize yourself with the process . . . it could save you money and frustration. For more info contact Mr. Wayne Griffin at 754-2554.
Has it been a while since you've been inside your City Hall? Take a few minutes and drop by and see what the combined efforts of the skilled crews from your Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments did to transform City Hall and the city's new combined Sewer and Finance Building at the corner of E.Caldwell and NMJR. Mt. Juliet is blessed to have some of the most dedicated and professional workmen on duty just for you. And speaking of professionalism, Chief Garrett tells me that calls for service to the Police Department have gone up by more than 50% in the same reporting period between CY08 and this year, while reportable crimes have declined. This just demonstrates the superb job your MJPD is doing to be responsive to our community.
Finally, make plans now to join us for the 09 iteration of Mt. Juliet's Halloween in the Park. Halloween in the Park is the largest event hosted by the city's Parks and Rec crew. It will be on Saturday, 10 October, at Charlie Daniels Park. We plan on the new Rec Center Expansion facility being up and operational by then, so the Parks and Rec crew have several new ideas to add to the mix. If Halloween isn't your thing, then just come by and see how the Charlie Daniels Park has been totally transformed in the last year. A new exercise "Para-course", a new skate park, expanded volleyball courts, and the new Rec Center expansion are all for you. And on that note, a final comment; if you haven't been to South Mt. Juliet Park to see the County's first and only Bark Park, you owe it to your furry companion to take a look. In addition to the Bark Park, which now has a fresh water source for your K-9, within the next couple weeks we plan to have a new children's playground up and operational. We want to thank the citizens of the Belinda City area for your support in making the playground, Bark Park and other new programming opportunities at South MJ Park a reality.
Take care MJ and talk with you later.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Update: 08/27/09
Good Afternoon MJ:
The Parks and Recreation Department hosted their first Mt. Juliet Community Flea Market last Saturday and boy was it a great success. Bargain hunters and gawkers were lined up to get into Charlie Daniels Park well before the 0700 opening, and the crowd was steady until the event closed at 1200. Mr. Rocky Lee, Assistant Director of Parks told the MJ Board of Commissioners last Monday that by their estimates more than a 1,000 customers visited the 32 vendors with booth space. The Market was so well attended that the Parks crew are looking to another event in late October, just in time to give those with Christmas gift lists on their minds an opportunity to find just the right present. Stay tuned to the city web page and this blog for more on that. Mr. Lee also noted that even though it rained just before starting our first “Movie in the Parks” a couple weeks ago, there were still more than one hundred participants who stayed the course and enjoyed a great night of video under the stars. Rocky and his staff are looking to see when they might be able to do another movie. If you have any thoughts let them know.
We want to welcome Mr. Bruce Abbott, the newly named General Manager for Wal-Mart to our community. I know the community is excited to have you as part of the Mt. Juliet fabric. Speaking of new comers, we welcomed Mr. Steve Foote, the city’s new Director of Planning to the team last week. Steve comes from the City of Gulf Shores, Alabama, where he held the same position as he does here. There is an awful lot on Steve’s plate, but he’ll be out in the community asap.
The city’s Sewer Billing Division has been combined with the Mt. Juliet Finance Department at its new location on 2365 North Mt. Juliet Road. With this initiative the city now has a single site responsive to all financial issues (except traffic tickets) under one roof. Mr. John Rossmaier, the City Finance Director will assume oversight with Mr. Wayne Griffin heading up day-to-day operations of the Sewer Billing Division to create a more robust and responsive customer-focused shop for those we serve. On this note, I want to encourage readers to use our automated on-line sewer billing system. As road, water, electric and sewer construction continues on North Mt. Juliet Road getting access to City Hall and to the Finance Department will be a little more challenging. Our customers will undoubtedly find it much easier and convenient to use the on-line payment system. For more details check out the on-line payment option found under the “Public Works Department: Sewer Billing” (soon to be moved to the “Finance Department”) of the city’s webpage.
Finally, a special thanks to TDOT Commissioner Nicely and his staff for their efforts to extend our “Local Interstate Connector” (LIC) grant on the Reverse L to include 50% payment for the grading of 5 lanes as opposed to our original plans to grade 3. This effort will save the citizens of Mt. Juliet approximately $250k in immediate expenditures, but more importantly it provides us a ready-made platform to cheaply and quickly expand that section of road to 5 lanes once demand catches up.
That’s about all for this edition. I’ll end by encouraging you to stop by the Mt. Juliet Animal Shelter and take a look at the selection. This is a first class operation, but we rely on your support. Take a look at the WTVF - Channel 5 News story on the shelter by clicking this link: http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=10998488 I think you will like it. Take care MJ and talk with you later.
R. Robertson
The Parks and Recreation Department hosted their first Mt. Juliet Community Flea Market last Saturday and boy was it a great success. Bargain hunters and gawkers were lined up to get into Charlie Daniels Park well before the 0700 opening, and the crowd was steady until the event closed at 1200. Mr. Rocky Lee, Assistant Director of Parks told the MJ Board of Commissioners last Monday that by their estimates more than a 1,000 customers visited the 32 vendors with booth space. The Market was so well attended that the Parks crew are looking to another event in late October, just in time to give those with Christmas gift lists on their minds an opportunity to find just the right present. Stay tuned to the city web page and this blog for more on that. Mr. Lee also noted that even though it rained just before starting our first “Movie in the Parks” a couple weeks ago, there were still more than one hundred participants who stayed the course and enjoyed a great night of video under the stars. Rocky and his staff are looking to see when they might be able to do another movie. If you have any thoughts let them know.
We want to welcome Mr. Bruce Abbott, the newly named General Manager for Wal-Mart to our community. I know the community is excited to have you as part of the Mt. Juliet fabric. Speaking of new comers, we welcomed Mr. Steve Foote, the city’s new Director of Planning to the team last week. Steve comes from the City of Gulf Shores, Alabama, where he held the same position as he does here. There is an awful lot on Steve’s plate, but he’ll be out in the community asap.
The city’s Sewer Billing Division has been combined with the Mt. Juliet Finance Department at its new location on 2365 North Mt. Juliet Road. With this initiative the city now has a single site responsive to all financial issues (except traffic tickets) under one roof. Mr. John Rossmaier, the City Finance Director will assume oversight with Mr. Wayne Griffin heading up day-to-day operations of the Sewer Billing Division to create a more robust and responsive customer-focused shop for those we serve. On this note, I want to encourage readers to use our automated on-line sewer billing system. As road, water, electric and sewer construction continues on North Mt. Juliet Road getting access to City Hall and to the Finance Department will be a little more challenging. Our customers will undoubtedly find it much easier and convenient to use the on-line payment system. For more details check out the on-line payment option found under the “Public Works Department: Sewer Billing” (soon to be moved to the “Finance Department”) of the city’s webpage.
Finally, a special thanks to TDOT Commissioner Nicely and his staff for their efforts to extend our “Local Interstate Connector” (LIC) grant on the Reverse L to include 50% payment for the grading of 5 lanes as opposed to our original plans to grade 3. This effort will save the citizens of Mt. Juliet approximately $250k in immediate expenditures, but more importantly it provides us a ready-made platform to cheaply and quickly expand that section of road to 5 lanes once demand catches up.
That’s about all for this edition. I’ll end by encouraging you to stop by the Mt. Juliet Animal Shelter and take a look at the selection. This is a first class operation, but we rely on your support. Take a look at the WTVF - Channel 5 News story on the shelter by clicking this link: http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=10998488 I think you will like it. Take care MJ and talk with you later.
R. Robertson
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