Three manufacturers have submitted proposals, ranging in cost from $32,000 to $57,000, to replace the grit screw at Dowagiac’s wastewater treatment plant. This component removes debris from the system that, over the long term, would reduce the life expectancy of pumps land motors downstream.
Jones and Henry  Engineers, a company hired to draw up the specifications and review products, is working with staff to research which proposal is best.

Leaf collection
Citizens can place bagged leaves at the curb and city crews will pick them up each week.
Residents also can bring their bagged leaves to the city’s compost site at the east end of Veterans Memorial Drive in Riverside Cemetery. More than 420 bags of leaves were collected in a single day recently by city crews.
The one-person leaf vacuum has been repaired, and crews are working 16 hours per day to get caught up.
Crews will continue to work throughout all sections of the city, weather permitting, until all leaves have been collected.
Brush collection: City crews will direct attention to collecting brush beginning today and will continue this effort until all sections of the city have been covered.
The compost site will be open for brush, branches, leaves and grass/yard clippings through Nov. 30 on Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to dusk and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Personal property tax legislation
According to Dowagiac city manager Kevin Anderson, the governor has yet to unveil a plan for overhaul of the personal property tax system, but a study by the Anderson Economic Group has been released that looks at the impact of personal property taxes throughout the state.
Michigan Municipal League is on record saying it would support removal of PPT so long as there is replacement funding in place so that municipalities which have already suffered significant reduction in state revenues can continue to provide public safety and community services.
“PPT was discussed extensively during a meeting of city managers I attended that highlighted the difficulty in changing the PPT,” Anderson said. “One community reported that they would receive a 39 percent loss in revenue; another community reported a 2 percent loss in revenue.”
In Dowagiac, the impact on city revenues would be a loss of $188,848.67, according to Anderson.
“It is still too early to predict what direction legislation will take, but we will continue to monitor and discuss the impact of each proposal with our legislators,” he said.