On Saturday, the Mayor's letter to the residents was hung on the doors in various parts of the city explaining that it is their job to provide safe, clean water. There are 2 inch pipes in various locations of our city that need replacement that are old and rusty. In one case, water could no longer get through the pipe. There are 23 miles of pipes that the City wants to replace but they will only touch on 17 miles over a six year period.
She wants the commission to approve of a State Revolving Fund Loan for this purpose that provides lower interest rates. The Commission directed staff to fund the capital improvement through water system revenue financing, proving that there is more than one way to skin the cat, as the general obligation bond was defeated. Estimated engineering, construction and financing costs for the six year project are $16.9 million. The remainder of funds will be from Water System reserves.
The city reports that the Water Distribution System consists of 157 miles of watermains ranging in size from 36-inch to 2-inch diameter. There are approximately 23 miles of 2-inch watermain. The 2-inch watermains are
generally constructed of galvanized steel with internal and external corrosion resulting in poor water quality and reliability issues.
All people in the city will be affected in their water rates even if pipes are not replaced where they reside. (They will not be replaced where I live). What she failed to tell you is the cost and the term. So you need to come to the Tuesday workshop, 6pm at City Hall. Of course, it's only a workshop so you won't be able to speak. They need the money and this is how they will get around a general obligation bond for this one six year project.
Borrowing details
- Term: 30 years
- Interest Rates: 1.25% for funds borrowed in FY 2015, 1.50% in FY 2016, 1.75% in FY 2017, 2.00% in FY 2018 and each year thereafter.
- Loan Service Fee: 2.0% of capital costs
- Debt Repayment: begins after completion of each phase (for conservative purposes, construction is assumed to be complete in one year for each phase)
your point Lynn or are you just against anything the city does.
ReplyDeleteDid you come to your conclusion all on your own that by writing the facts about something I am 100% against it?
ReplyDeleteEverything needs to be considered when you are raising fees or taxing the people and going out on another 30 year loan. We already have $72 million in loans on the books.
My NA is at the end of this cycle. They will run out of money by then and I will be paying a small fortune to water my grass.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get a copy of this letter, but I am interested in hearing more. Frankly, I like the idea of infrastructure upgrades being paid for via our utility fees. That way everyone pays, not just those that pay City taxes. I'm also happy that the City is exploring other options for these upgrades. I don't know that this is the solution, but we are desperate for infrastructure upgrades and we should be considering all different ways to pay for and/or finance the work.
ReplyDeleteOur way of life is slowly coming to an end , we don't have the wages and or profit to pay more taxes to cover the cost to repair the empire not just in LW but every city, County and state in the union . Our water is already too high. Too funny.
ReplyDelete12:16...change the word "slowly" to "rapidly" and I will agree with you. :(
ReplyDeleteI doubt that the City of Lake Worth has the credit rating to get bond money and or a loan from the state either but, if they did I bet that very few dollars would be spent on the infrastructure and most would go public safety/pension fund which is killing us already
ReplyDeleteWhat does city hall do with the money that we ALREADY give them ? Maintenance should be a basic.They can hand out 10,000 raises, no problem.Free lunch for employees at Steak houses -No problem. How ABOUT AN APPOLOGY for the 50,000 they stole from us to advertise their 63,000,000 cash grab? That 50,000 would have repaired a lot of pipes!Does anybody recall that this was discussed at a meeting? It might have been . I usually have to leave before the meetings are over. The stench of corruption wafting off of Maxwell, Triolo and Amaroso gets to be too much.
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