A handful of people appeared before Bellevue Council Tuesday evening to comment on the proposed 2011 budget and its inherent fee hikes.

One resident said that the switch to a usage-based sewer surcharge and the increase in garbage collection fees will result in an increase in cost that is greater than her salary will increase next year. She objected to paying more for garbage collection simply because other people were not paying their bills.

“Don’t penalize the people who do pay,” she told council.

Director of administrative services Doug Sample said that the borough’s collection rate for garbage fees was only about 85 percent, but said that he already has begun efforts to collect past due amounts.

He also advised residents to control how much water they use in order to control how much they will pay is sewer surcharges.

“Water conservation is key,” he said.

Former council member Steve Mosolansky said that he was under the impression that the flat $19 per household surcharge had been sufficient to cover the cost of mandated sewer repairs.

He also questioned the need for an assistant DAS, which is budgeted at a $31,000 salary for 2011.

“With a borough this size, I don’t see an assistant DAS helping as much as other things,” Mosolansky said.

Sample said that there was a “backlog” of work in the office, and the assistant also could apply for grants.