NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - "The people of Niagara Falls are done," says Terri Kline.
Kline was identified as the organizer of a sizable protest outside City Hall Wednesday night. The gathering upset at the prospect of paying an additional fee to have their garbage collected."
"It’s basically a double tax,” says Kline.
Word of the proposed garbage fee emerged Sunday in the Niagara-Gazette. City Administrator Nick Melson wrote a guest column laying out the need for the additional charge.
"We're in this very difficult position. We have to take drastic measures. I think the user fee is the least drastic of those measures," says Melson.
City government faces a nearly $14-million shortfall. The unveiling of Mayor Paul Dyster's proposed 2019 budget is still almost two weeks away, where he would explain his plan to erase the deficit.
Ultimately, the city council would need to sign-off on the fee. Republican council member Chris Voccio says the Dyster administration has not yet made the case for asking city residents to pay a use fee. He'd like to see budget cuts.
"The city of Niagara Falls does not have a revenue problem. The city of Niagara Falls has a spending problem," says Voccio.
But an important source of revenue for the city has dried up. Last April, the Seneca Nation announced it was no longer paying a share of its take from its Niagara Falls casino to state and local governments. While that dispute is in arbitration, city government is now forced to live without the casino cash.
Council President Andrew Touma says for years, property tax increases were put off by using casino funds to prop up the budget.
Even if the garbage fee is approved, Melson says a property tax hike as is city employee reductions, including the possibility of cutting currently vacant jobs on the city police and fire department.