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Thread: Emergency Surcharge

  1. #16
    Not to change the subject but I will LOL when I lived in NH , I lived on a private road, all maint was taken care of by the property owners, plowing,grading, tree trimming ect ect We even bought our own street sign ,yet the town charged us road frontage on our tax bill. You figure that one out, no matter how much we complained it was basically TOO bad for you.
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    Its a large cost - capital improvement. That isn't covered by the monthly costs set aside for routine maintenance. Its similar to where i live. We pay fees to the city for street maintenance and repair - that doesn't cover the cost for new storm sewers, streets, curbs, water piping, sidewalks, etc. All that gets billed back to the homeowner on a separate charge - costed out on a per foot basis. Lucky me lives on a corner so I get charged 2X the normal price because of double the frontage.
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  2. #17
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    I live in a subdivision that is on a small series of municipal wells, probably a six hundred customers at most, run by the county on behalf of the township. Most wouldn't consider it "city water" as you need a softener. Most city water supplies have a surface water source and a treatment plant. Half of my sub is older and on wells. I could do either when I built my home 42 years ago and chose not to have my own well. Best choice ever as I only had to pay a connection fee of $500. Much higher now. Power goes out? I still have water, hot too with a gas water heater. Many neighbors have had to put in elaborate softeners to deal with the iron, not me. Many have had their wells replaced over the years, not me.

    Not much to add with regard to the PO's question. Folks don't like to pay for something they might need in the future, but a responsible operator will have a reasonable sinking fund for unforseen smaller repairs, and larger forseeable issues, like painting a water tower. But then when an unforseen major item comes along, like the sinkhole in Macomb County MI when an 11 foot diameter, 75 foot deep sewer recently collapsed causing a huge sinkhole, the $100 million repair cost simply can't be absorbed within the budget, somebody has to pay and it won't be taxpayers not serviced by the sewer.
    NOW you tell me...

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bert Kemp View Post
    Not to change the subject but I will LOL when I lived in NH , I lived on a private road, all maint was taken care of by the property owners, plowing,grading, tree trimming ect ect We even bought our own street sign ,yet the town charged us road frontage on our tax bill. You figure that one out, no matter how much we complained it was basically TOO bad for you.
    I assumed the road in front of my house was paved when I bought the house in 2014. I asked the city when they would be repaving it because it is in really bad shape. They informed me it is technically not a paved road and would never be repaved. I was told the road was gravel up until ten or twelves years ago and the city had millings put down. The city only repaves roads that were paved when the development was built.

    Every house pays a street paving fee yet my road will never be paved. I don't expect my road to be paved, but I can't stand paying for everyone else's paved road. Yes, I have complained at city council meetings and emailed my the mayor, but it fall on deaf ears.
    Last edited by Bruce Page; 03-28-2017 at 12:26 PM.

  4. #19
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    Water prices are just weird. We pay 2 times as much for water in Kentucky as we did when we lived in Arizona. Go figure.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    I don't understand why a water supply wouldn't be considered city water just because a softener is needed. Pretty much any city water in Minnesota that is pumped from the ground will need to be treated with a softener to remove iron and minerals. City water typically has less iron and minerals than a well in the yard, but still needs a softener. Some cities get water from rivers and that water doesn't usually require a softener.

    Minnesota has lots of iron in the ground which gets into the water. The iron is the reason we have a number of taconite mines.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bert Kemp View Post
    Right routine stuff should be paid for by the monthly fee's. Isn't that why we get a bill each month.
    You are already paying for the routine stuff in your monthly bill. It sounds like they have an unusual repair bill and they need help paying for it. They can either charge you extra every month to either build up a reserve or buy insurance to cover the repairs. Either of these options would increase your bill all the time.

    The other option is to charge extra only during the time when the extra money is needed to complete the repairs. I think this works out to be slightly better overall. All of your previous bills were slightly lower.

    Steve

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