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It appears more hurt is coming for city of Dunkirk residents. A public hearing will take place Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. on changes to water rates.
Proposals would raise the minimum usage fee from $20 to $30 and boost the price of water used over a gallon benchmark to $5 per 1,000 gallons, from the current $4.33 -- a 17% increase. While the hike will not go over well with users, Comptroller Tracy Smith-Dengler points out that the new rates will "still be substantially lower than neighboring communities.”
That does nothing to ease the burden on taxpayers, who continue paying a high price for malfeasance and a lack of oversight that came from previous Common Council members, former Mayor Wilfred Rosas and former Treasurer Mark Woods who faces criminal corruption charges.
Government officials are often overjoyed when placing blame for rising costs due to inflation. That's just not acceptable anymore.
Area households -- paying higher taxes and fees in the north county -- are changing their spending habits when it comes to groceries, fuel and electric rates. Government, however, is not built to do that.
It exists to spend more of your money -- on a local, state and federal level. If it cannot make ends meet when it comes to a budget, higher fees are always the next step.
That is obviously what keeps happening in the city.