New Winnebago councilman Chris Anderson was sworn in at the meeting.

Public comment took center stage at a Winnebago City Council meeting held on Tuesday, April 12.

A small cluster of residents attended the meeting to voice their discontent about a recent hike in utility bills.

Winnebago resident Elise Nielsen summarized the community’s concerns in a letter addressed to the council.

“You have made it difficult for those who are on a tight budget,” Nielsen wrote. “As a realtor in Winnebago, the hike in city utility rates is making it hard to encourage home buyers to move to Winnebago.” 

“I ask you to come up with a better plan, and reconsider your rate increases,”  Nielsen concluded.

Council member Calvin Howard responded, “We’ve been fighting this increase for a long time. We’re trying to raise rates in a responsible way, but at the end of the day, we’re still $511,000 in debt.” 

Howard noted the council was unable to find any other way to source necessary funds for the city.

“I don’t see any other way to feasibly raise the money we need,” he said.

Council member Paul Eisenmenger also provided additional context regarding Winnebago’s utility billing system. He explained the city has been using an outdated tiered billing system for years which penalized larger households.

The city has finally rectified the system this year.

“The city was losing money on households of two to three people,” Eisenmenger said. “The people who were carrying everyone else’s weight were families with four, five, six people.” 

He added the city should have adopted a new system a quarter of a century ago, but was never made aware that their system was outdated.

Eisenmenger also brought attention to Winnebago’s water treatment facilities. He noted they are high-quality for a town of Winnebago’s size, though they may contribute to slightly higher rates.

“Winnebago is very fortunate that we have a Class B plant. When water leaves the plant, it has been treated, and been treated again,” Eisenmenger said.

Winnebago resident Jim Ness responded, “I totally appreciate what you guys go through trying to balance a budget,” he said.

Ness added, however, he feels more efficient communication between the council and Winnebago residents is warranted in the future.

“The animosity toward City Hall is huge out there because (residents) didn’t know what was happening,” Ness explained.

City administrator Judi Hynes countered that flyers had been posted around town which announced the pending rate increases.

Ness suggested, however, that mailing notifications to individual households may reach more residents.

“When we do our next budget, we can budget in some sort of mailing service,” Howard suggested. “If the people of Winnebago want that, we should get that for them.” 

Howard concluded, “This is all water. This is not going to the general fund. It doesn’t go into anybody’s pocket.”

He added, “This is not catch-up. This is literally what we should be charging for the usage.” 

Nielsen responded, “I like living in Winnebago, but people want to live where they can afford to live.” 

In other general business, the Winnebago City Council:

• Swore in Chris Anderson as a member of the Winnebago City Council.

• Agreed to place proposed improvements to the interior of the water tower on hold at the recommendation of Bolton & Menk engineer Matt Cole.

• Renewed township fire contracts between the city of Winnebago and the townships of Center Creek, Delavan, Nashville, Prescott, Verona and Winnebago.

• Approved several requests regarding the upcoming Bago Fun Fest, which will be held the weekend of June 17-19.

The council authorized Hynes to approve sponsorship of all food, beverage, noise and miscellaneous licenses for the event, approved a donation of $3,000 from the city’s 10 percent gambling fund to cover event planning fees, and approved free swimming at the Winnebago City Pool during Bago Fun Fest.

• Approved a recommended increase in wages for Winnebago Swimming Pool employees.

Hynes noted the city has budgeted $37,000 for pool wages this year, but the proposed changes will push costs up to approximately $40,160.

• Approved recommended changes to the Winnebago Swimming Pool’s operations. Admission fees, the swimming lesson schedule and hours of operation will be altered slightly.

• Passed Resolution 787-2022 designating the Municipal Center as the polling place for the City of Winnebago.

Hynes noted a new resolution needed to be passed due to recent redistricting in the state of Minnesota.

• Passed Resolution 785-2022 appointing Maggie Hassing, Carolyn Nienhaus, Darlene Fretham, Sara Murry, Amber Patten, Jessi Sturtz, Kendra Reineking and Hynes as election judges.

• Passed Resolution 788-2022 accepting donations to Winnebago Ambulance, the Winnebago Fire Department, the Muir Library and the City of Winnebago in the amount of $1,789.

• Passed a motion approving payment of the bond abatement costs to secure a loan from DEED for the demolition of the SuperValu building.

• Appointed Anderson to the Utility Committee, the Emergency Services Committee and the Fire Relief Committee.

• Approved two quotes for the purchase of radio read meter replacements. 24 Itron 100W Pit Erts will be purchased from United Systems for $2,172, and 24 M25 HRE Registers will be purchased from Metering and Technology for $2,420.

• Approved the repair of the water plant’s relief valve by Minnesota Pump Works for the amount of $2,381.65.

• Approved a proposed change to sewer and water connection and reconnection fees. The current fee schedule charges $500 for each, but the Utility Committee recommended decreasing the fees to $300 for water and $200 for sewer.

• Discussed pending litigation with TMI Coatings via closed session, with city attorney David Frundt. No action was taken by the council at this time.