MANSFIELD — Eric Miller led the successful drive more than three decades to convince city voters to approve the Pothole Haters Tax, an income tax increase dedicated to improving Mansfield streets.
The local attorney wants to do the same thing in November with a four-year income tax increase whose singular aim is to replace 60 miles of “bad” water mains in the city.
“The Mansfield Water Main Initiative for Fire Safety is a 1/4-percent income tax to replace water mains so that our fire hydrants work,” Miller said in a letter to City Council, asking members to approve placing the issue on the Nov. 7 ballot.
The tax would generate an estimated 17 million dollars over four years, said Miller, whose pothole tax has been re-approved every four years since its inception in 1986.
In 2023, for example, the city will repave 34 miles of city streets at a cost of $6.99 million, using funds generated by the Pothole Haters Tax. Miller has said he and his group audit that street work annually to ensure those designated tax dollars are used for nothing else.
In December, city engineer Bob Bianchi told council that about 18 percent of the city’s 339 miles of water lines are still four-inch mains, some more than a century old.
He said Thursday that the city still maintains 53.4 miles of four-inch mains.
Miller said it would cost about $80 million to replace “60 miles of bad water mains so that 371 useless or underserved fire hydrants can get enough water to help firemen do their job.”
Bianchi said in December that 198 of 2,847 hydrants produce less than 300 gallons per minute.
According to national standards, to qualify as Class A, a hydrant must flow at least 1,000 gallons per minute. Any hydrants producing less than 500 gallons per minute are rated Class C — the lowest on the scale.
Bianchi said the city has 113 hydrants that have no water flow.
“We plan to convince a majority of citizens to vote for the tax as a charter amendment so that the tax dollars (generated from the issue) can only be spent for that purpose,” Miller said.
“City Council need only to put it on the ballot and then let citizens decide. I will be the committee treasurer and do most of the fundraising. Campaign leadership, fact-checking and public messaging will be handled by other committee members whose names will be announced later,” he said.
H20 has been a frequent topic for City Council.
In February, after a few months of discussion, council approved adding a “readiness to serve” charge to water bills, raising consumer bills a minimum of $10.93 per month. It is expected to generate about $2.7 million annually for the city’s water fund,
During those discussions, Miller attended a meeting and urged lawmakers to approve the increase.
“We need to assure the safe and reliable delivery of water to our citizens. And that has to begin with passing the rate increase that’s long overdue. Now, we currently pay less than a nickel a gallon for water and sewer. And after the rate increase goes through, it will still be less than a nickel a gallon,” he said.
“That’s a mighty low price for something we have to have,” Miller said.
“Some of you are holding back because you have questions about whether or not there’s an unjustified delay in installing new water meters. The water meters might be a problem. I wouldn’t claim to know about that.
“But sometimes you have to solve more than one problem at a time. You can’t hold up this rate increase because you have concerns about water meter installation. You have to assess the risk of a massive catastrophe. And we’re playing that game by risking a total shutdown of the water system,” Miller said in January.
During council’s discussions, Bianchi said increased revenues are needed to fund an annual water main replacement program around the city and other capital improvements needed to ensure water flow.
Without the increase, Bianchi told council on Dec. 6 there is no water infrastructure capital budget. He said the “readiness to serve” charge will allow the city to spend about $850,000 annually on water main replacement efforts.
The “Water Main Initiative” will allow that needed work to proceed quicker, Bianchi said.
Mansfield Fire Department Chief Steve Strickling told council in December that his firefighters rely on a GIS system to tell them as they are responding to a fire about the status of hydrants in the area.
“We have a lot of fire hydrants that won’t supply needed water for firefighting purposes. This is a big problem and it’s a big problem all over the city,” Strickling said.
The chief said Bianchi’s plan to spend $850,000 annually on water main replacements is conservative.
“It’s very minimal, but I know we’ve got a lot of other things you need to do with the water system, too,” Strickling said.
Mansfield went 17 years without a water-rate increase before council approved a series of annual increases beginning in 2019, which have not generated enough additional revenue to adequately fund the department, according to local officials.
Mansfield is in the process of paying off two large bond issues from the water fund — an EPA-mandated $35 million upgrade to the water treatment plant and a $17 million project to replace all water meters in the city, a replacement program that’s not yet complete.
Bianchi this week welcomed Miller’s proposal.
“This is a citizen-led initiative by people who really want to see the city replace more water lines than we can do with recent water charge increases,” he said.
“The idea is to completely abandon four-inch mains and replace them with nothing less than eight-inch lines,” Bianchi said.
“The citizens approached the City of Mansfield about this. This legislation is to simply put the language on the ballot to allow voters to determine if this is a good idea,” the engineer said.
Council is expected to discuss the proposal during its June 6 meeting. A vote on the legislation is scheduled July 18.
