Veto maintains Lockport water-rate hike

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Trivedi

Updated: March 4, 2012 8:15AM

LOCKPORT — Mayor Dev Trivedi successfully defended water-rate increases that took effect in December, citing a need to pay for operations and infrastructure improvements.

The city council majority tried to eliminate the increases, which had been approved by a previous council. However, Trivedi vetoed the majority’s measure last weekend. At Wednesday night’s meeting, the majority did not have the six votes needed to override the veto.

Council voting was along the same lines as past veto conflicts: Voting to override were council majority members Justin Fentress, Tom Kelly, Kelly Turner, Dick Van Dyke and Denise Marynowski. Voting to sustain the veto were Aldermen Pete Colarelli, Brian Smith and Robert Perretta.

Trivedi had vetoed the majority’s efforts, saying:

The city must run its water and sewer utility in a businesslike manner, and the council majority took its action without any financial analysis or multiyear planning.

Deferring action on water and sewer problems is more expensive over time.

Lowering the water and sewer rates may require Lockport residents — through general fund money, which includes property taxes — to subsidize nonresidents in areas where Lockport provides water or sewer service.

On Wednesday, council majority members took issue with the increases, mentioning the tough economy.

“I don’t think that the water-rate increases are necessary,” Turner said. “I think that in this economic time, people also voice this opinion — that when incomes are going down, government acts as if it doesn’t matter.”

Colarelli supported Trivedi’s veto, saying: “It’s no mystery. You talk to anybody, and you ask them a simple question, ‘Do you favor water rate increases?’ and of course everybody is going to say no. They don’t want an increase in anything. I think it’s our responsibility as elected officials to articulate why these rates are necessary. And we’ve done it time and time again.”