A portion of Danville sales tax revenues designed for demolitions would instead go to the city’s Storm and Sanitary Sewer fund under a plan that has cleared a committee. The Public Services Committee voted 3 to 1 last night (Tuesday) in approving the new funding plan. The recommendation still needs full city council approval and several council members voiced concerns about the plan including Vice Mayor Brenda Brown who voted ‘no’.
Committee chairman Steve Nichols said something has to be done. ‘’Even I see the need for some revenue now. How that comes about I guess we’ll have to see, but it’s a really bad situation that we’re in. And again, I understand your frustration,’’ said Nichols. ‘’We all want things demolished, even in north-end areas where we have issues. But we just really have to look at everything again.’’
Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said if splitting the funds originally designed for demolition is not what the city council wants to do, then the city is going to have to create a storm water management fee. Otherwise, he said the city could do nothing to address storm water needs. But he noted $200-thousand dollars has already been expended this year on emergency storm water repairs. And he added there are no funds available for storm water maintenance or projects. ‘’The reality is storm water is a real issue,’’ added the Mayor.
Alderman Dan Duncheon says he thinks there needs to be more discussion on splitting the money. He says ‘’taking money away that was originally designed to fight blight hurts.’’
