By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—The Pelham City Council scheduled a special-called City Council meeting and a Water Board meeting on Sept. 22 to discuss rising water costs, the fiscal year 2015 budget and possible changes to the city’s upcoming heavy trash pick up day.

The Water Board meeting, beginning at 6:30 p.m., will discuss how the city will deal with the increasing cost of Shelby County water. On April 1, the county made the first in a five-year series of seven percent water costs increases. This increase is significant to Pelham, as the city currently purchases roughly 30 percent of its water from Shelby County.

“Water is a big driver of the budget,” Pelham City Councilman Rick Hayes said during a Sept. 15 Council works session, noting a number of “water related issues” to be discussed in relation to the fiscal year 2015 budget.

The City Council will hold a special-called meeting following the water board meeting at 7:30 p.m. The Council plans to discuss and pass the final version of the fiscal year 2015 budget.

As of the Sept. 15 meeting, the budget was “95 percent done,” Hayes said, adding he will be meeting with several department heads and “tweaks” would be made to the budget before the Sept. 22 meeting.

The City Council will also discuss possible changes to the upcoming fall heavy trash pickup day. Trash Taxi of Alabama President Roberto Rodriguez suggested several changes during the Sept. 15 Council work session, including a designated location on Lee Street for residents to drop off heavy trash materials and extending the one-day event to a week.

“I think it’s a great idea… it’s going to make our neighborhoods look a lot less junky that day,” City Councilman Ron Scott said of the idea of a trash drop-off location.

Additionally, Rodriguez noted a week long heavy trash event would allow for Trash Taxi to sort through items that are trash and items that can be recycled and possibly even donated.

“Last year, I can’t even tell you how many valuable… items (were discarded),” Rodriguez said. “(This) encourages and enables recycling.”