PONTIAC - The city of Pontiac will raise sewer, cemetery, park and airport fees and canceled a contract for janitorial work with an agency that helps developmentally disabled people, all in an effort to help balance the city budget.

"With (the budget) as a backdrop of where we have been and where we are headed, all of these items are not easy items to do," City Administrator Bob Karls said, noting much of the budget problems stem from losses in the police and fire pension funds.

The City Council voted to terminate a contract with Futures Unlimited Inc. for custodial services, which cost the city $30,000 last year.

Futures workers, who receive job and life-skills training, have cleaned City Hall, the police station and park restrooms. Current city workers now will be used for these services.

Many members of the City Council said this was an unfortunate budget cut that had to be made.

"We hate to do this, but ultimately it is a contract that we don't have to have," Ward 3 Alderman Donovan Gardner said.

In other action at Monday's meeting, the council voted to raise the sewer rate by 68 cents, from $1.69 to $2.37 per 100 cubic feet. The monthly cost for an average, 6,000-gallon customer is expected to go up from $13.52 to $18.96, officials said.

This rate also is considered lower than in surrounding areas, including Streator, Washington and Princeton, where the average rate is often $4 to $5.

The cost of a grave space, now $750, will increase to $1,000. Fees charged for burials, which had ranged from $650 to $1,000, depending on the day, now will run $800 to $1,200. Cremation, which had run from $200 to $400, now will be $300 to $600.

Infant burial costs, crypt service fees and disinterment cost also will increase.

Jerry Hayner, parks and recreation director, said most rates at the recreation center will increase by about 10 percent. The monthly cost for a local family will increase by $2, from $24 to $26, and the rate of an individual resident will increase from $16 to $18.

Hangar rent at Pontiac Municipal Airport will increase from $125 to $140, beginning in June, and to $150 beginning in April 2010.