EG SEWER FEE INCREASE – CORRECTLY OR QUICKLY?

The East Greenbush Town Board has scheduled a

• Sewer Fee Increase Public Hearing for 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 28^th and 
• Special Meeting at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 28^th to increase them.   

Why the rush?  The 2016 payment is covered by Sewer fund balances.  Isn’t correctly addressing the issue(s) better than quickly addressing them?

The Sewer Fee Increase Plan uses $1.6 million in fund balances over the next four years to mitigate those same fee increases. 

I’ve presented a plan to use $700,000 in fund balances to pay the 2017 WWTP debt service (leaving fund balances totaling $2.5 million) and fix the structural problems of the Sewer District Budgets.  ‘Buying’ this extra year gives the Town Board the time to: 

(1)   Learn whether the $1.6 million State grant application for the WWTP Upgrade is approved, possibly decreasing the EFC WWTP borrowing to $14.0 million;

(2)   Convert the General Sewer District to an Assessed Value tax basis, shifting some of the tax burden from residents to businesses and conforming the General district to the other districts;

(3)   Reapportion Operations & Maintenance (Personal Service/Contractual Expenses/Employee Benefits) costs, including the Rensselaer County Water & Sewer Authority service agreement payments, among districts based on consumption;

(4)   Restructure taxes to pay debt service, capital improvements and the RCWSA service agreement and fees and other revenues to pay O&M;

(5)   Investigate retiring existing Bond Anticipation Notes with fund balances;

(6)   Pursue refinancing existing Bonds and the RCWSA service agreement; and

(7)   Consider using remaining fund balances to phase in (3) and (4) above.

The WWTP debt service has been looming unaddressed for years.  I’m advocating resolving a number of issues in addition to the ‘immediate’ one.  Some Town Board Members agree with some of my proposals.  I’m saying to do them all before raising fees in haste.

Pete Stenson