LEWISTON – Gene Tardif worries about the implications of Lewiston’s storm-water utility fee.

“It’s $30 for homeowners now,” he said. “But what’s going to happen next year? They’re going to raise that fee up. We may be saving taxes now, but we won’t be saving anything if that happens.”

The new fee, a petition aimed at killing it and Tuesday night’s hostile City Council meeting were grist for Tardif and friends’ lunchtime conversation Wednesday afternoon at Tim Hortons on Lisbon Street.

All had watched the live Great Falls TV broadcast of the City Council meeting Tuesday, and they came to their daily lunch ready to talk.

The group agreed on a few things:

• The storm-water fee isn’t a bad idea and they can handle paying $30 per year.

• Backers of the petition aimed at killing the fee did it to get their names before voters.

• Mayor Lionel Guay shouldn’t have gotten angry at David Hughes and Larry Poulin, the two Republican candidates for state office who started the petition.

“Last night, the mayor just went over the edge,” said Glorianne Travaglini of Stevens Street. “But (City Administrator) Jim Bennett did a good job. I think he smoothed things over nicely.”

Bennett said Wednesday he would bring changes to councilors in the way the fee – he called it a “rain tax” – is charged to trailer park residents. That’ll happen at Tuesday’s workshop meeting.

“We’ve said all along there would be things we need to change, and this is one of them,” Bennett said.

Councilors adopted the utility-fee plan as part of the city budget in June and settled on the details in September. The fee is based on the amount of hard surface on each property, including roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways. Single-family homes would pay $30 per year, duplexes $45 per year. All others, including businesses, churches and nonprofits, would pay 4.4 cents per square foot.

The petition would force a November 2007 vote on the storm-water utility. If 1,000 voters sign the petition by Jan. 11, it will force the city to suspend the new fees until the vote. That would leave a $1.8 million hole in the budget.

Paul Renaud of Ferry Road called the fee the lesser of two evils.

“Taxes go up, too,” he said. “At least this way, everybody is paying it – including Bates College.”

No one in the lunch group at Tim Hortons would sign the petition, they said.

But John Peterson of Balsam Street said he doubted the city would have to lay off employees if the petition succeeds.

“They’re already short of employees in some departments, so I don’t think they’ll ever let it get that far,” he said. “I think they’re talking that up a bit.”

Job worries

Bennett has said he may have to lay off as many as 50 city employees if the 1,000 signatures are collected and the fee is suspended.

Talk about the controversy wasn’t limited to people eating out Wednesday. Connie Norton, who lives on Russell Street across from Bates College, said she is worried about city layoffs. Her son works for the Public Works Department.

“I think the fee was a little breather for taxpayers,” she said. “It kept our taxes from going up just a little and I think $30 a year is pretty reasonable. It’s something we can do that keeps jobs from getting cut.”

But Russell Street resident Lauren Vincent said she worries more about city spending. She and her husband, Louis, said they would gladly sign a petition aimed at stopping the utility fee.

“Cities just spend and spend and spend, and then they ask for more,” she said. “Where does that come from? It comes from us, and it has to stop somewhere.”